Archive | October, 2012

staying inspired//career

23 Oct

sometimes, when i need a boost of inspiration, i turn to my old college textbooks. yes, i know that sounds odd because (those that know me know) I strive for relevancy in an ever-changing, consumer-driven world. why would you go back 20-30-40 years to get those nuggets of wisdom? because change just for change’s sake is meaningless without core strategy. and in advertising, those that led the way “back in the day” had that and then some. it is FROM that place of core strategy to where we must then grow, evolve and be relevant in marketing – even today.

for example, here are my past inspirations:

david olgilvy (main inspiration for being in advertising) – his book sits on my desk even to this day:

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or good ole leo burnett. i would walk by leo burnett every day when in college in chicago. i would dream about working there some day. do you know that every day, employees get an apple on their desk?

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or charlotte beers- brilliant – paving the way for us women!

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i have many modern day advertising heros as well. but there is only one that i want to highlight.
before I do, i have to tell a little story.

on october 13th, it would have been my grandma’s birthday. she has been gone now for 24 years. i loved my grandma. she was strong, opinionated, smart. i was thinking of her when i asked my mom if I had any traits from my grandma. after much discussion, the answer was… no -not really. it wasn’t until later that day when i thought more about our conversation and i realized it was my mom who i resembled – more than my grandma. how wonderful is that?

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my mom does such a fantastic job of advertising for a restaurant and grill in her neighborhood that they turned her volunteer job into a paid job! and she does such a good job of it because she enjoys it and has a passion for it. yep, i’m proud to be my mom’s daughter!

appreciating really good friends & party of all parties!

21 Oct

there are many reasons i married my husband, ROF.  

one was how many really good friends he has.  it wasn’t that he has a lot of friends, which he does.  or the fact that they are all really great people, which they are.  but it was what i learned from him and his friends.  in order to have really good friends, you have to be a really good friend.   it sounds like a no brainer but you have to make a concentrated effort to do so – it isn’t something that you just get handed.  some people prioritize other things before being a good friend and that is everyone’s perogative.  i think i have a lot to learn from him.  while i have plenty of good friends and people i love and who love me back, this is an area i can always be learning.

you have to listen more than you talk, be willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for a fun time or a friend in need, you have to build traditions.  whether it is watching a football game and drinking bloody marys together or just grabbing a cup of coffee and talking about really deep, hard subjects.

his friends threw us a outstanding party last night, i couldn’t wait to share some photos.  thanks so much to moody, paul, anthony, d, curt, tim, tod, todd and tom.  and thanks so much to susan and jennifer and everyone who made it such a memorable night and make us so so sad to leave.  we’re positive that no one in michigan will write us a rap song (thanks, david bolner) and perform it with such gusto.  thanks to all that came to be with us!

from an artist who sketches “butts” to a photo booth to sammy’s BBQ (we had our reception there!) to the “screaming o’s” desserts – everything was wonderful!

 

3 fantastic & fabulous recipe resources

19 Oct

i don’t know too many people who have the meal thing all together.  i always want to make time to do dinner right, but end up working all day and going out.  i think there does come a time of diminishing returns for always going to restaurants to eat.  it isn’t a treat anymore, not special.

here are 3 resources to find some good recipes or help you organize your meals.  

1. foodgawker.com

i’m overwhelmed at the number of food blogs out there.  they are absolutely amazing too.  the photography, step-by-step pics – it’s crazy!  foodgawker.com organizes it in a nice, easy to see grid.

you can sort by category and customize your own page and recipes.

but then you choose a picture and it takes you right to the blog with the recipe:

and boys, if you think this is just a chick thing, think again!  you can find bbq, things to grill, smoke, kill – whatever you want!

2. emeals.com

a friend clued me into this website and i signed up for the weekly menu for 2 for “clean eating” at whole foods.  every wednesday you get an email of only two pages.  one is a shopping list BY AISLE and WITH COST (!) and the other page are 7 recipes for dinner.

you can choose from a family of 4, family of 2 and from many different stores or general and diet.

3. just plain food blogs.  all these are really fun and creative.  google any of them.  i would provide links for you but i’ve got to run.  hope you have a great dinner planned for the weekend – stay at home!

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like it or not – you’re making an impact.

17 Oct

for some reason, this has weighed a lot on my mind lately and i can’t remember what has brought it on. maybe it is moving and all the emotions that go along with that.

it’s something that is easier to see being applied to someone else – but not necessarily yourself. you are important to someone. you’re important to many people. we have such a hard time truly grasping the reality of us being a living, breathing NEED in someone’s life. but we are. we make an impact on others.

my biggest example of this is my dad. before he passed away, he left and divorced my mom. you can read all about that in “my story” over to the right and at the bottom (grab some wine, sit down with it if you must) but i was 30 and it absolutely tore any sort of solid ground i was standing on out from underneath me. i decided to not talk to my dad for about 6 months (at the time, it was planned out to be forever) i didn’t know how to act when i had been so hurt. my cousin, jim, said to me: ” i think your dad underestimated how you’d react”. it was then that i thought that my dad made a decision and didn’t really think about anyone else but himself. you may say – well, yea – that is who he should be concerned with, right?

but to add to the “we are important” comment above, we don’t realize the IMPACT we have on other people.

there is so much strife in this world without adding to it. relatives not talking to one another, friends not moving over a sticking point, friends moving/leaving/abandoning you. as i roll over these thoughts more, i think back to the ted video from brene brown on vulnerability. if you haven’t seen it, click here.

the thing is – you can control two things and there is one thing you can’t control.

you can control:

1. telling someone that they are important to you. you’re not confessing anything, you are not saying you condone what they do or what they’ve done but let them know that THEY AFFECT YOUR LIFE. write a note. send a text. mail a postcard. dial a number. leave a message. here is the script:

“you need to know that you are important to me.” and add one reason why. and that’s it. maybe that is to someone that you see and talk to every day. your husband, your mom, your sister, a friend, a co-worker, a mentor. maybe it is someone you haven’t talked to in a long time, maybe it is someone who has passed away, maybe they did you wrong. but you still think about them. they take up real estate in your head. i’d say that is important.

you can also control:

2.owning that you’re important and knowing that you affect other people. your decisions while your own, do affect other people either positively or negatively. that applies to many decisions: decision to drive after having too much to drink, decision to silence your phone when your daughter is talking, decision to say ‘i’m sorry’ or ‘you’re forgiven’.

you can’t control:

3. the fact that others make decisions that impact you in a negative way. you can only focus on people you have an impact on and people that have impacted you in a positive way.

who are those people in your life? can you give me one person and why?

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

Jackie Robinson

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new york botanical gardens escape

16 Oct

while in NY for business, i got a chance to stay until saturday at my sister/brother in-laws house in chatham, nj.

you can’t beat new jersey in the fall.  you know, now that i think about it – new jersey and detroit are very similar.  yes, one is a state and one is a city but they both have totally skewed perceptions about them.  you’d think (from the media) that the minute you step in new jersey a mad housewife is going to come yelling at you or a snookie is going to bump into you at the grocery store.  but new jersey is gorgeous.

detroit – same thing.  while some of it true – it is still the murder capital of the country and all – no one ever mentions how fantastic the neighboring towns are.

anyway, fodder for a future post.  i was thinking it, so i wrote it.  

susan and i went to the beautiful new york botanical gardens in the bronx (hello…the bronx y’all!)  last week we stole away for a few hours and walked the grounds where there was a monet exhibit and had a wonderful lunch.  we also rode a tram (freezing cold!!) around the entire grounds.  who knew it was started in the 1800’s?  not i.

this picture above was not made in the future.  yes, it is only october, 2012 not 2013 but i can’t change it or don’t have time to – so please ignore.  thanks mom for letting me know!

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Insta Food

11 Oct

it’s no secret, I like good food. maybe … a little too much! and sometimes, to the displeasure of my dining companions, i take snaps of my food. sometimes it just looks so good.

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warming to the season

9 Oct

these are some great, cozy, fall finds.  you can shop any of them here.   who knew leg warmers could be so cool?

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it’s fall … make a great chicken recipe!

8 Oct

this week i’m heading to beautiful new york state and i get the opportunity to pop in to spend some QT (quality time) with some of my very favorite people in the world.  that would be the prendevilles!  

in honor of that, i’m going to repost susan’s awesome chicken recipe from last year.  you must know that it was and still is my #1 most looked-at post!

so looking forward to seeing you this week!

hi, my name is susan

and i am lucky enough to be “the appreciator’s” sister in law and ROF’s sister. she asked me to share a recipe and since i would do anything for her, i agreed. leave it to the appreciator to invite guest bloggers – always the includer.

dear trish – my sister in law on my husband’s side – made this dish when we visited years ago and it has become a family favorite. i selected this recipe because i wanted the opportunity to tell you about (appreciate) trish.

trish & my mother-in-law eileen

she is a gentle soul and one of the best listeners i know. one of the things i like best about her is the way she shows me things. trish tells the story and holds the thing in her cupped hands in a way that conveys her treasure of it. i can always feel her feelings… when she shows and tells.

trish has given me:

Continue reading →

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sleepless art

4 Oct

i like to design art on my ipad when i can’t sleep. what do you like to do?

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mindful of life, while you live it

2 Oct

what a great sermon we listened to this sunday.

thank you Dr. Blair Monie!  it was uncanny that my mom had mentioned something similar to the theme of the sermon the evening before.  it was talking about being really mindful of where you were, where you have been from and where you’re going.  i guess we all can get in a place where a day is just another day.  or we’ve never really changed anything up so that we see the same things, talk to the same people and basically are content.  nothing wrong with that unless everything in your life is routine and therefore there is the fear that you could take everything for granted.  taking things for granted means that we’re not really mindful of the present.

why is that important?

because someday you will get old and your memories (if that) will be all you have.  not just memories of big trips or events like getting married – but everything.   like that rainy sunday you went to the movies with your mom and you both shivered under a shared umbrella while laughing and running to the car.  or the crunch of that favorite sushi roll you enjoyed with your sister-in-law while talking and sharing and getting to know each other.

the above was more my commentary than that of our pastor.  he reflected on the play “our town”, in which one of the main characters can choose one day to go back and experience one more time.  she chooses her 12th birthday party.  she finally finds it too painful, and realizes just how much life should be valued, “every, every minute.” poignantly, she asks the stage manager whether anyone realizes life while they live it, and is told, “No.

do you realize life while you live it?

dr. monie described a powerful message in psalm 8.

1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?[c]

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

my own appreciation of my Lord is another blog post, or perhaps another blog all together.  as it is certainly something i don’t take for granted.  everyone has their own “religion” (and, to each their own) but i have a relationship with God and this psalm is so magnificent.  powerful in the thinking that He is mindful of us.  no matter what your upbringing, no matter what pain we’ve been through – or any apathetic, agnostic nothingness (which is worse, to me) – He has crowned us with glory and honor. to me, if God is mindful of me, then that blows my mind.  and makes me realize that i must be just as mindful of Him.  oh, the challenge in that!

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