Springbutt (#2): Travel
November 29, 2011
Although I have this strange secret love of airports, I really do not enjoy spending time in the air or in the car. Yet, I travel quite a bit. And it is exhausting.
This next month is shaping up to be a doozy. With a work trip to Atlanta, and car trips currently planned for Pennsylvania for 1) my college girlfriends’ Christmas gathering, 2) my High School girlfriends Christmas gathering, 3) our Neff Christmas, 4) the Siegrist gathering and 5) the Good family gathering, that means numerous back and forths. Yes, we’re used to it, but is that really the best way to relax and soak in the Season with my kids and Rob?
I’m caught trying to be the good daughter, the good niece (who makes it to every reunion), the good employee, and, oh yeah, the good wife and mother who’s not completely crazed and crabby because of all the packing and unpacking she’s doing.
With aging aunties and uncles, there is a level of importance to these functions that is often unspoken. Yet I also know it takes a toll on the time that my little clan has together, just us.
Frankly, I don’t yet know what will come off the plate…..or will I again try to do it all?!
Cyber MomDay
November 28, 2011
How convenient! Cyber Monday. As if a stampeding herds of human cattle on Black Friday weren’t enough! We now have another great marketing invention (born in the reality of an emerging habit and cultivated in the petri dish of “what makes American shoppers tick.” There were no fewer than 10 emails in my Hotmail account when I woke up this morning, all of them offering a wicked deal today. Even the hotels points programs aren’t missing a beat, offering me a special rate on my next stay…if I book NOW.
Materialism aside (my mother-in-law informed all her children over Thanksgiving that we are very materialistic; note to self), the reality is that we all have shopping lists, people for whom we need to buy (including the mother-in-law), and a budget with which to do it. So, whether or not you’ve waited til today to check out your favorite online shopping destinations, first go make your list, then at least give online retailers a shot. My favorites for working moms who undoubtedly are managing “THE LIST” for the household……
- AMAZON! Rob and I signed up for Amazon’s Prime program this year. Yes, it costs $80 but with Christmas, the last minute needs, and our — ehem — struggle with instant gratification, it is more than paying for itself for us. We have quite literally bought everything from a massive table saw (that had to be delivered in an 18-wheeler) to… well, duh… books. Amazon is also great for LEGOS, as we have several Lego obsessed children in the Klause/Joss clan.
- Ten Thousand Villages! I’ve talked about Ten Thousand Villages numerous times on this blog. After joining the Board of Directors last year, I tested out the online store for Christmas 2010. Not only were the small jewelry items I purchased perfectly wrapped and protected, but the home decor items came beautifully packaged with small tag descriptors that told a story about where each item originated and the artisans who helped to create it.
- Victoria’s Secret — Even if you’re not gearing up for the big Fashion Show this week, and in spite of the fact that telling all your Facebook friends what color bra you wear is so 2009, Victoria’s Secret continues to be where I like to get my girly on. Lately, my obsession has been pajamas. I have at least 4 sets of PJs from Victoria’s Secret– nothing X rated (much to Rob’s dismay), although one set is leopard print. My SIL over at BigRedKitchen might be the recipient of some new jammies this year. This usually stylish, hot mama revealed to me that she has been wearing the same moumou/t-shirt to bed for 10 years.
- Lilly’sKids — yes, you read that right. Christmas sweaters and kitschy decor aside, the Kids section of Lillian Vernon really has some adorable, personalized items, especially for girls. I’ve bought personalized gifts like sleeping bags, roller suitcases, flip flops, beach towels, water bottles and pencils. And it is actually PROOF that I took the time and ordered in advance to get my niece’s name on everything! And let’s face it… PotteryBarn took this good idea and perfected it even more… Lilly’s kids is just a heck of a lot cheaper.
Clearly, there are no earthshattering sites here. This Mama could use some new ideas but these have served me well over the last 5 years! My goal this year is to actually uncover some new online gems to help me complete the list… (more on that Excel sheet later!)
Happy (Cyber) Monday!
Ann Taylor City?
November 26, 2011
I remember the Ann Taylor store at Union Station. And I remember the gorgeous black and white suit with nautical buttons and a flirty skirt. My first big girl suit purchase in a big city. It was the Spring of 1992. I was a college student spending a semester in Washington, D.C. And I needed a suit, because I was going to meet Barbara Bush.
It’s 20 years later and that Ann Taylor store is still there, at the same spot. Now, when I’m in Union Station rushing for the Acela, I cannot peer up at the second floor shop without remembering that purchase. Of course, Ann Taylor is far more ubiquitous these days….way beyond Washington, D.C.
Monica Hesse’s Washington Post Style section focus on Ann Taylor as the stalwalt of fashion — the “old faithful” of working women shopping in DC. — really nailed the reality of reliable, affordable, fashionable (but not too fashionable) working woman dressing.
Wouldn’t we all like to have a personal stylist? To appear in the pages of Capitol File? That’s likely not the reality for working moms across the region and Hesse recognizes that.
Instead, we do our best. We strive to fall somewhere in between Carrie Bradshaw and Clair Huxtable. We stretch our dollars with a little bit of fancy, a little bit of practical, a little bit of haute, and a lot of reliable. We mix in a little Nordstrom (online for me!), White House Black Market, Neiman (if we’re lucky) and yes, Ann.
Springbutt (#1)
November 25, 2011
“But I’ll get the $200 necklace for $30 if I host a party……” And that is how it goes.
The (my) definition of Springbutt: “She (could be he) who jumps up to say “I will” when a volunteer opportunity is offered up.”
This is the story of my life. I am a slowly recovering Springbutt, that term of endearment that my husband uses to describe me. Are you? I have actually gotten better recently at saying “no” but am not completely cured. There are several reasons for this, as I see it:
1) The “I can do it all” syndrome, which, by the way, is a LIE. No one expects me to do it all, so why do I expect that of myself?
2) The commitment — like the jewelry party — is actually something I want to do and so I make a decision in the moment without examining all the consequences.
3) I have a genuine desire to be helpful. Plain and simple. In the case of the jewelry party, combined with #1 and #2 I thought it would help out my neighbor Laura if I signed up for a simple show.
In some sense, it is the combination of #1 and #3 that is dangerous. When I volunteer for something, I may not only be ill-qualified for said activity, but am preventing someone else from stepping up.
A few episodes at work over the past year brought to light my desire to say yes to too many people and projects. My leadership coach has been great, giving me several books to read about ‘saying no.’ Here is one:
In the meantime, I’m still planning a simple jewelry party in the coming week. Should have I signed up for this? Probably not. Perhaps acknowledging that is a step towards thinking twice next time I’m over-taxed. Am I looking forward to it? Yes!
My journey continues……
The (jewelry) party will go on...
Gratitude
November 23, 2011
According to Wikipedia, Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.
If there was only one thing that bubbled up for me as a “lesson” from Peru, it’s that we are overwhelmingly blessed here in America, so much so that we often don’t see it. In conversations with my best girlfriends, we so easily descend into the tougher parts of life — kids that aren’t sleeping, busyness that barely lets us breathe, the responsibilities of household tasks, and the list goes on.
And life can be tough. My challenge — and the challenge for all of us, I think, is to move beyond basic thankfulness for the “things” and the people in our lives and instead approach gratitude as a lifestyle, a discipline. In the middle of a pretty crappy day, it’s not an easy practice.
Once again, Henri Nouwen, gives inspiration, saying:
“Gratitude.. goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the trust that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now i realize that grattitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowlege that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”
Grassroots Artisans in Peru..a Powerful View from Their World
November 8, 2011
When I joined the Board of Directors of Ten Thousand Villages, I expected to tap into my Mennonite heritage. I even knew it would be an opportunity to give back, using my skill set, for the cause of fair trade. What I didn’t expect was how much I would be educated on the difficult and messy work of finding sustainable, talented grassroots artisans and bringing their stories and products to North American markets.
Fresh off our Board trip to Lima, Peru, my heart is both proud and heavy because of the work we do. In all of our meetings – from the coiled wool weavers in Lima to the silversmith jeweler who works with his son in a back alley of Cusco — these artisans told us that Ten Thousand Villages accounts for the bulk of their business. They are able to send their children to University and hire more workers in a land of 40% unemployment because we have found them, spend time training them, and pay up front.
Most of these shops are small, largely undiscovered, and have relative degrees of sophistication — a combination which makes it difficult to break into North American markets. Most big retailers frankly won’t take the time or invest in the logistics of bringing these small shops their business.
Working with ethical, fair-trade minded groups like the Ten Thousand Villages network means access to North American markets ..and a chance to obtain many of the values and goals that truly know no borders… family advancement.. university….a good job…a fair wage…pride in one’s work. Turns out that people like Juan Carlos in Cusco, Peru are just like us.
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