Travel Smart!

I'm glad I'm not one of those people who has to get on a plane or drive long distances during the holidays. This week the news people were covering all the lines at the airports for the Thanksgiving break because so few people actually know how to travel. Here's some tips I've picked up by travelling so often for work:

1. Pack Efficiently: Roll your clothes tightly to put them in your suitcase or rolling bag- this not only saves more room than folding, but it also minimizes wrinkles for most things. If you've got hard items like shoes, fill them with the fragile items. Bring tiny pj's (shorts and a tank or silk pjs take up less space than sweats). Wear your biggest shoes and jacket on the plane or train. Make sure your bag itself isn't bulky. I have a rolling duffle from Target.

2. Choose 1 Color: For short trips, pick one color to tie your wardrobe together like black OR brown. Then you can just bring one or two pairs of shoes, one purse, and one belt to go with all your things. You could also look into two-toned jewelry (a mix of silver and gold) or a nice reversible belt - I have one from Nine West that I got at Marshall's a few years ago and its awesome.

3. Carry On Whenever Possible: To keep you moving quickly, don't check your things if you can avoid it. Usually airports let you bring 1 "bag" and one "personal item", so ladies, put your small purse into a larger "personal item" (i.e. a bigger purse or computer bag) to get more space. Other things you may have to do:

• Buy powdered makeup instead of liquid bottles (I love Bare Minerals)
• Buy travel sized perfume, soap, etc. Remember that you'll probably have stuff at your hotel or relatives that you can borrow!

4. Minimize: This may mean bringing one fewer pair of jeans, or investing in a video iPod. Seriously, do you realize how much those little things can do other than play music? You can buy books on tape, watch a movie, and play games now to save you space and weight in your bags. Ladies, bring a flat iron OR a curling iron instead of a set of curlers. Don't bring both!

5. Prep Yourself: If you're waiting in line to go through security, get your laptop and liquids out and take off those shoes. If you'll be needing maps, bring your GPS instead.

Exercising Emotional Reactions

I had someone ask me today what my weakness was. Isn't that always a hard question to answer truthfully? It always comes up in interviews, and people always seem to say that they don't have a weakness, which makes them look like a liar. Everyone has a weakness; or as I like to refer to it "an area for improvement". So what's mine?

Well, as the type-A person I am, I recognize that I have both many strengths and many weaknesses. The one I'm focused on right now is my tendency to react right away to something, usually with a highly emotional response. In business, that can used as an asset to gain trust, strengthen teams or win sales, and it has been a large part of why I've done so well- people see I have a passion for what I do and I get a lot of things done when I believe in it. However, it can also be a downfall: if someone does or says something I don't like, my mind immediately goes to the deep end: "this person doesn't know what their talking about!" then formulating my response while they talk. Its why I'm a much more confidant written communicator than a verbal one; because I have time to review instead of just responding.

Since someone pointed this weakness out to me, I've been more on the watch for that trap- and trying to put it in check through better listening and understanding. This also helps me develop a plan for fixing things myself, instead of just running for help to someone who I know can fix it for me. I'm still a ways away, but by focusing on this I think I'll start seeing myself as a better leader and be seen as a more confident asset.

Giftings - Best of 2008

Next week is Thanksgiving (ahhhhh!) and the start of my holiday shopping season. This will be the second year for a polyanna for my family. This year, we'll be including my husband in place of my mom (since she can't stick to the rules!) in our Christmas gift swap. The rules of our polyanna are simple: You buy every other person 1 gift under $20, and then your polyanna person you buy one gift under $50.

The reasons we've decided to do this are three-fold: First, none of us have gobs of money to spend and we were in a competitive spending pattern every year on each person; Second, we want Christmas to become less about the gifts than about the birth of Jesus again; Lastly, we're all old enough to buy our own things so we don't really need anything we can't buy ourselves.

Mentioning #3, here are my favorite gifts I bought for myself this year that give me joy almost every day:

1. Our Wedding Rings- because every time I look at my hand I'm still floored that a) I'm married and b) that I have that much bling on my hand!! ($Priceless)

2. My Leather Wallet from Italy - because its sleek and fabulous and from my honeymoon ($125)




3. My Kiva reusable bag- because its been handy more times that I could imagine, and its environmentally friendly ($5)


4. Sony Under-The-Cabinet Radio / CD Player with IPOD hookup - because now I dance in my kitchen more often than before and it gives me some company while I learn how to cook. ($90)

5. White High Heels- I bought these for my wedding of course, but since they aren't made of bridal satin or anything, they have been able to go many places with me this year: my bachelorette party, my wedding, a friend's 21st birthday and work. They are some of the sexiest yet simplest shoes I own and I love them.

Selling Off

In an effort to clean up our house a bit, I've posted the vases from my wedding for sale online. It was a minor struggle for me - I want to keep them, even though I know I'll never use them again! However, I know that they will make someone else happy, and buying them here instead of in a store or renting them from the florist is going to save some lucky bride or event planner some cashish. Plus a little extra in my pocket in time for the holidays wouldn't be so bad either... Wish me luck!

A Newlywed Menu

Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate cooking. However, as a newly married lady something inside me wants to take care of my hubby, save money, AND eat better; so I'm determined to learn. What I've discovered is that it's not so much the actual cooking that bothers me, its the planning. So I've been planning a week's worth of meals on Sundays and buying everything for them then. Rachel Ray had a full week's meal guide and shopping list in each of her magazines this summer. Also, anything that we use up gets put on the next week's grocery list. It's 1.5 months and working so far... I really love the accomplishment I'm getting out of it.

Here's some big things I had success with in September & October; Bonus! 5/6 of them are vegetarian recipes :

1. Homemade Pizza. Inspired by September's book club, this was possibly the most adventurous of my homemade cooking so far. It was also one of the most fun and yummiest. All the extras I needed to buy was some dry yeast & the toppings. I had the flour, salt, etc. already. $10

2a. Raviolis & Spinach- Couldn't be easier! I used a bag of frozen cheese raviolis & 3 oz frozen spinach with 1/2 jar Arribiata tomato sauce. Served with garlic bread, I had enough time (and leftover spinach) to make #3 below. $8

2b. Cauliflower & Spinach Casserole - This was a great all-week long meal. I just broke up a head of cauliflower, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, the rest of the frozen spinach, a little EVOO, bread crumbs and some shredded mozzarella cheese in a casserole dish and baked at 325 for 1 hour. No fuss and it was YUMMY!! $5

3. Popcorn Cauliflower- Since Mr. Mc really likes cauliflower, I also tried this one- WOW! Its basically french fries, but shaped like popcorn. 1 head cauliflower broken up, 3 Tbsp EVOO, 1 tsp salt, bake 325 for 1 hour. Not a full meal, but its a great side for the burgers & mac / cheese he makes! $3

4. Cranberry - Chipotle Beef- The most surprising wedding gift was the slow cooker, so we went in search of something to cook in it. Cut up & throw the following in the pot: 1 small onion, 12 oz beef chuck roast, 1/8 tsp salt & pepper, 1 clove garlic, 8 oz cranberry sauce, 1 tsp chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce. I put it in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high then serve with 10 minute rice. Be careful, this is one spicy meal!! $9

5. Israeli Salad - I had this at an Italian restaurant near my house & liked it so much I decided to try and make my own. Dice the following: 3 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, 1 onion, parsley, dill, 3-4 tbsp olive oil & juice of 1 lemon. Toss & serve with a whole wheat pita. $8