Life's a mystery...

Kelley in the White House?

2007-02-06T09:52:00.000-06:00

Maybe not today. But I did rub elbows with our nation's leaders!

I was recently invited to attend a Jeff Fortenberry fundraiser. To my surprise, Vice President Dick Cheney was in attendance. Of course I had to get a picture!

I shook his hand, said "Good Afternoon, Mr. Vice President," smiled for the camera and was ushered away. And, no, he didn't invite me hunting.

Summer is finally here!

2006-06-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

What could be better than warm days, swimming pools, outdoor BBQs and hanging out with friends?! I, like most of you, could not WAIT for summer to get here. I got ready with buying buckets of sangria and marguerita mix, a new swimsuit and set up appointments to tan before I blind anyone.

So raise your glass to the next three months!

Cheers to my friends!

2006-03-05T02:01:00.000-06:00

Today was my birthday party! Trish Claycomb, my friend that is soon to be married, is needing a massage right now. Jamie Petersen, to my right, is wanting to watch naughty sites on my internet and his wife Courtney is looking through our years of photos. We are having such a good time, I can't imagine my life without them in it!

Here's to my many friends that showed up for my 28th birthday party! Cheers to you!

Home remodeling

2006-02-17T12:32:00.000-06:00

We are currently remodeling our home, room by room. I find that the more I remodel, the more expensive each room gets. It started with our bedroom before we even moved it. We painted the walls and replaced the carpet. Total cost was $325.

Next was the our bathroom. Eric made the vanity and my mom gave us a mirror. The gutted the entire room and the remodel was only $600. We didn't replace the actual tub or toilet.

After that was the laundry room, which started with us getting a new (free) washer and dryer from my folks. It turned into some big project and now we are looking at around $400--and we didn't gut the room.

The next step we just made was remodeling my office, which is also the work out room and den. The room is still costing us money. Total expense so far = $780, and we still aren't done.

My advice? Make a budget before you start any remodeling!!

Naïve About Business

2006-01-17T10:12:00.000-06:00

I find it hard to believe the people can start companies without know anything about business. First, I have an excellent tailor. She's from my hometown and such a nice lady. She ran her tailoring business out of her home for friends and family, but word-of-mouth grew her business out of her hom. Well, she decided to open shop a few months ago. She found a decent location and brought in all of her sewing machines, fabrics, and other supplies. She then kept charging me her previous rate. I told her that she HAD to raise the rates a bit to maintain her bottomline. She had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I also asked her about her logo and advertising. She said that a friend whipped her up a logo and showed me a business card. She planned on putting it on her sign above her front door. The 'logo' was an old, overused script font and nothing else. I begged her to let me design her something that fit her style and was a bit more trendy. I couldn't talk her into it. And then she told me she didn't plan on advertising.

WHAT?!?! I couldn't believe my ears. I'm guessing she never did a business and/or marketing plan. You don't have to be a genious to sift throught the internet and find simple and concise information on how to run a business. I'm really trying to help her and I hope she survives 2006.

Crazy Christmas Shoppers!

2005-12-12T11:48:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you all are experiencing the insanity of Christmas shopping. So far, I've had my parking spot stolen, had a fellow customer cut in line, and have been called 'you people' by a retail employee. Great experience so far! Now I just need someone to break my arm. No wonder people are shopping by internet or sticking with gift cards. Who needs the constant hassle of going into stores for gifts?

Any fun shopping (or not so fun) stories out there?

A Sad Thanksgiving

2005-11-23T15:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true. The inventor of Stove Top stuffing passed away this month. So when you are loading your plate up with a delicious helping, remember to hold your spoon up in toast to Ms. Ruth M. Siems.

Thank you, Ruth, for keeping our Thanksgiving meals enjoyable and 'stuffed'.

Say-So to help our busy little day

2005-11-17T12:32:00.000-06:00

I have found a great site http://www.say-so.org/
Check it out. It's a place to go in search for advice or offer advice.

Do cell phones belong at dinner?

2005-11-17T11:48:00.000-06:00

You are quietly dining with friends or family. In the background, you are hearing 20 different sounds. You identify these sounds as different cell phone rings. Wait...isn't that the Dukes of Hazzard theme song?

Then you hear people pick up. Could it be THAT important that you have to interrupt your dinner and those around you by answering the cell phone and having a conversation during dinner. I have been guilty of this many times, but it still doesn't become less irritating. Why is it that people only call me during dinner, meetings or when I'm extremely busy. And it's usually someone I would enjoy talking with. When I answer that cell phone, I'm afraid of irritating those around me, so I usually say "I'll call you back" or something to that effect.

Maybe it really is an important call and you have to answer it and proceed with a short discussion with that person on the other end. Well, it's a judgment call. But I have been sitting across from my husband while he goes into some lengthy discussion with friends on his phone. And the person that called is usually someone he talks with regularly anyway. The longer I'm made to wait to get back to our dinner and discussion, the more I seethe at the technology that has cut into my time.

Maybe I'm old fashion. Maybe I following the teachings of Emily Post too closely. To quote Emily, "People are becoming very frustrated with the inconsiderate, disrespectful, and in some cases dangerous uses of cell phones. As a society we are faced with a new technology that begs for a set of guidelines to define usage that is both considerate and respectful of people around us. If a significant portion of the cell phone users continues to operate phones in a disrespectful or inconsiderate manner, then we may well face formal regulation of cell phones in AND out of vehicles. In our opinion a better path to follow is for cell phone users to apply common sense to the use of their cell phones. "

In my humble opinion. Whether at dinner, in a meeting or time with friends. Don't make those around you wait. Get off the phone, or better yet, don't answer it and give them a call back when no one else is around. I must also follow this rule to be considerate and not to become a hypocrite.

Likeable?

2005-11-11T11:55:00.000-06:00

I find that a lot of my decisions are unconsciously determined by the 'likeability factor'. By this, I am referring to the need for people to like me. Boss, co-workers, associates, friends, and family. I look back on some decisions I made in the past and wonder if I had taken out the likeability factor, would the outcome have been different? For example, I was roped into volunteering for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Total Resource Campaign. Sounds fancy, right? It's calling currently LCOC members and asking for money up front in a package deal. Well heck, if I'm going to be calling for money, I need to be calling for my work instead! But I've had three chances to turn this volunteer job down and due to the people calling me, I somehow haven't been able to do that. Back to my last topic - say no! Even if no was said, I'd be wondering if work associates would be upset with me.

A 30 hour day

2005-09-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

"NO!" See - I can say it. Projects are piling up and I need to learn how to say that word more often. Isn't it funny that there is absolutely no time to do it all? I would love to talk to the person that has figured that out. With people pulling you in different directions, I think if I just use that word more, I might get closer to finishing my million projects to have enough down time--which will probably be spent cleaning the house.

So my solution is to say no more often and instead of a 24 hour, I need a 30 hour day.

A quote to...learn by?

2005-09-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

A great quote I just found:

The people who annoy you the most and whom you find the most challenging to deal with are often your best teachers. The people whom you find the most irritating offer you an opportunity to become the most introspective and aware. The next time you find yourself in a difficult situation--fuming at a coworker or ready to shriek at your spouse, partner or child--ask yourself, what does this person have to teach me?

Glorious Day

2005-09-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

It is the second day of fall and I must admit it seems perfect outside. But I have the glass is half empty syndrome today that I blame partly to my mother-in-law staying with me all week. I am reminded of some advice from a good friend, Luebbers - "Always focus on the fun parts of your day and somehow that squelches the bad."