Bunch of sickies

Hubby and daughter have strep throats! So glad they both went to the doctor's yesterday. Gotta get some sleep...

Travel cutback

Talked to boss today - planning out my travels for the rest of the year. He asked, "travelling too much?". I said, "Yes". He said, "Ok. " We talked about all the potential travels and prioritize them - we cancelled 3 - it's a would be nice if I was there but not necessary. We're still keeping 4 - 2 international and 2 domestic. Out of the 4, 2 are for training - I can't complain. Gotta have those.

Another quick meal

Hubby is under the weather today. Heated some leftovers for him (at his request) and wondered what can I make - dinner for 1? Daughter's a grazer, so count her out. How about fried chicken and steamed asparagus? Sounds funny but it worked out really good - not too much, not too little - very enjoyable. Total cook time = 20 min (the chicken was already cut up and thawed) :-)

Mental exhaustion

What does that mean? Does that mean your brain is working harder or being worked? Does that mean you are a decision maker instead of an individual contributor? I am asking because that's how I feel today. Got some things accomplished and some just piling up on the to-do list. First day back in the office and have 3 drop-ins that took a good 1 hr of my time - all good but still 1 more hr I did not have.

Tyson frozen chicks

Hey new moms out there - try this for a quick meal. Sam's Club have these delicious frozen grilled chicken strips for $10 (from Tyson) you might want to try. (ps - no, I am not a Sam's Club / Tyson employee or spokesperson). Last night, it was 8pm and the usual "What do you feel like eating tonight?" came up. I made grilled chicken linguine with alfredo sauce and the family was eating in 15 min! Just lay out the frozen strips on a microwable plate, covered with saran wrap, put on high for 1.5 min, stir, put on high for another 1.5 min - chicken is tender and hot! Throw it over pasta, soup, salad and you have your family at the dining table in minutes. Try it. I always say it's the quality time with the family vs quality time with the kitchen.

Golf season

Are we THERE yet?

Chocoholics

IMHO, the best chocolate comes from Europe, particularly Belgium and France. Well, hubby came back from Germany with these caramel, nougat and nut chocolate called "Toffifee". Absolutely addictive. Great motivation to go back to the gym! Thanks Tom L.

In my trip last week, the European manager brought 2 boxes of Belgium chocolates, one for each day of our meeting. Needless to say, it was a very productive meeting. Last Christmas, I received a chocoholics-medic-kit at work. Imagine a first aid kit filled with chocolates to soothe all your cravings. I still have it at work and keeping it for those VERY bad days. Come to think of it, have not had that many since my new job - hmmm, PROMISING. Btw, daughter loves chocolates too - I am so proud.

Makeup or no makeup

Reading a book - Casual Power - I recommend it for those career-seeking women out there. It talks about how to dress for success. One of the topics talks about makeup. I am blessed with good complexion all my life. Therefore, never had to wear any makeup. Besides, I dislike them. The book calls it laziness. Ok, I am lazy but can't bring myself to spend money in "painting" my face, or the book calls it "enhancing your image". I do see some redness on my face lately and am contemplating in starting just a little makeup - light foundation to even out the redness and perhaps a touch of lipstick. It's kinda exciting, I have to say. It's like learning a whole new you. Just telling my sis-in-law today that I felt naked without makeup when I wear a business suit because my face looked "incomplete". My hubby, boss and colleagues disagree but I guess we all have to answer to our inner self, eh? It's how we feel inside that's been projected outward, at least I believe it's true for all women. Oops -gotta go, got caught blogging while hubby is preparing dinner for 6. Guess I better be a hospitable host and entertain as well. Later...

Travel guilt

Ever have that? When I got my new position early this year, one of the perks is that I get to control the travel or so was the case when I signed up for it. It's only Q1 and I have made 4 trips - 2 mandatory and 2 needed at my discretion. Looks like there are more "opportunities" coming. I was told that I do not have to take all the opportunities thrown at me. I have qualms about that. I always believe everything happens for a reason. Hubby is very supportive in all these craziness but I do not take that for granted. We estimated I will not see our daughter for 3 months this year based on the "opportunities" ahead - hard facts I cannot ignore!

Reruns

You know spring is here when all your favorite shows have "Finale". Then, reruns start to kick in. Please...let spring be here. It's gotta be golf time right about now, right???

Crawfish

If you like seafood - I recommend trying crawfish. I was introduced to these "bugs" in one of my travels many years ago. It's a southern treat when in season and the season is NOW. Looks like a miniature lobster, the meat is in the body kinda like shrimp but the best part is the head, kinda like a shrimp as well.

How it's cooked: boiled (pronounced down south as "boyled") with/without spices. Recommend trying at least once the "TURBO" spice.

How it's eaten: Tear the head apart (yes, it comes with the head), suck it, pinch the tail and pull the meat out.

Served by the pound, I can finish 2 for dinner. :-)

Car rental

Through all my travels, I have never rented a car. I seldom travel alone but when I do, my colleagues always provided transportation. Well, this time it was different. I called the meeting and one came from Europe and the other hardly travelled. I knew my zero experience car renting had to end. I have to say - it wasn't bad. Asked the rental agent for navigational "EVER LOST" system. Got a Kia Optima, (btw it's a nice drive), navigation system = zero! Oh well, how hard could it be? Well, 5 min outside the rental terminal, I was lost! Instructions say to take the left turn, I looked around, everyone was taking the right turn. Now, I have been told by my peers I usually take the road less travelled but literally???? Self-doubt sets in, make a Ueee and headed for the gas station. Asked for directions and was told I was heading the right way. Geezz...should have trusted my instincts - come to think of it, my boss told me the same thing yesterday! Well, needless to say, I made it. Oh, did I mention I did get lost a second time after the gas station instructions? This was a big step for me. What's the big deal, you ask. Those whom know me well know why and we'll leave it at that. ;-)

Little expectations...

Back home again. Daughter was happy to see me. Instead of giving me a hug, she looked at my bags and said "Open, doggie?". My heart sunk. Since I started travelling again, I always brought something back for her. That was not the end of it. She "searched" my bags! Note to self - ALWAYS bring something home for the little one!!

The night before..

It's 9:05pm, flight leaves at 6am next day, what am I doing? Watching "Shall We Dance?" while finishing work for tomorrow's meeting, packing and ironing. Sounds crazy? Best way to fight travel anxiety. As much as I travel, I 'm still anxious the day before.

Why am I watching SWD now? Hubby says it's so good that it makes him want to learn ballroom dancing - now, tell me is that not reason enough to watch it before I leave??? :-D

International In-flight movies

One of the "luxuries" I consider after being a parent is watching a movie. Not talking about in home movies from HBO or private DVD collection. This is about the total experience of going out of your house and watching a movie. One way to reclaim this is international in-flight entertainment. Stuck in the plane for 7 or more hours, this is the time to catch up on the most recent movies which hubby & I will never get to watch.

Hubby & I compared the movies we watched through our most recent travels to France and Germany (separately of course). In total, we watched Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, The Incredibles, After the Sunset, The Village, Flying Daggers... (Mandarin w/ English subtitles starring Zhang Ziyi), Shall We Dance?. Not bad, eh?

Quest for Camelot

Don't think this animation got a lot of hype but have great songs and music. Try it. It's the only DVD we have without the 15 min movie headers to it. Was on clearance for $5! Daughter loves it.

Brad & Jen

Read somewhere that B+J are divorcing. Sad... Wish them all the best.

Spam

Not the electronic one. Daughter started liking it. Pan-fried, cut it up in strip, looks like fries - she's all for it. We love it - quick meat in a can - part of the 20 min meal recipes. You can still have a great sit-down family dinner with the crazy schedules we all have today. Just have to be creative what is served. You can slave over the stove for hours or whip something up and ENJOY your family. You choose!

Hubby home

Hubby's back bearing gifts from Germany, even for me. Plates! What a pleasant surprise. I am tickled with square plates - can't put words to it. We have a supply of German coffee to last us for the year till his next trip. ;-) Candy and toys for the kid. She especially liked the battery-operated car on the road tracks. Spaetzler (I'm sure the spelling is not correct) for himself - it's a German staple, pasta like, bland but with butter and curry or any sauce, it's great. Family's back till I leave for my trip on Monday. This will be the last one for awhile (we hope).

Long day

Couldn't sleep - had work on my mind again...

Woke up, took out my laptop, and started working on a quotation I promised one of our directors yesterday. I have a list of to-do's and then some since my return from France. Finally getting over the cold I have before France. Today, I am up to my eye balls with paperwork. Pretty happy with what I accomplished today - kept to my priorities and paced myself. Still left at a decent hour to pick up daughter from daycare. Pretty satisfying day. Not too many SMS from hubby today. 3 more days to go...

20 minute meal

Menu:
Long grain rice, bean sprouts + green beans + dried shrimp in soya sauce, fried eggs and Brahim's chicken in tomato sauce.

Cook time = 20 mins (including prep time)

Take that, Rachael Ray. :-)

Family

Just got a call from my sis-in-law, actually, my "sister". Not having any sisters and being a tomboy all my life, she is my feminity sanity check. :-) I am going to miss her very much when she marries this Fall and moves away to start her own chapter on family. She's great with my daughter and keeps her occupied so I can take care of the mommy duties - groceries, laundry and housekeeping - which for all you ladies reading this, I truly enjoy doing. I think I am a workacholic by nature. It does not matter what I work on. Sad I know, but so true.

Interesting website

I don't surf the net but happened to stumble on this great website - www.bluesuitmom.com. Interesting reads on enhancing personal power in a men's world. A must read for all you career gals out there...

Almost perfect afternoon

A warm cup of herbal tea, a little of Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, daughter finally napping and a little blogging sums up an almost perfect afternoon for me. It would have been PERFECT if hubby was not on his way to Germany. :-(

Travel to France

Bonjour! I have been out of the country on business for 7 days to France, specifically Versailles. The plane ride to Paris/Charles De Gaulle is about 8.5 hrs from Cincinnati. Versailles, (pronounced Ver-sai) is about 40 min southwest of Paris by cab or 1.5 hrs by train. The people are friendly. We were all challenged with the language but you'd be surprise how simple words like hello/good morning "bonjour" and thank you "merci" can go a long way to form a quick international relationship AND a pleasant French experience. By the end of the trip, I was fluent enough in my hellos and thank yous that the airport employees spoke French to me. Of course, I had to stop and apologize that that was the extent of my French. One of them even laughed and spoke in English "A-ha, you tricked us! " :-)

Weather wise, it was by far the coldest winter in France. Forecast was hi of mid-40s to lo of mid 30s. I underestimated how much we would be walking and was not dressed warmly enough. This was my first international travel in 3 yrs. For most of my co-workers, this would have been their only travel outside the US and probably their last until the next time. One of them dreaded this trip but in the end, commented that this was a positive experience in terms of appreciating the language barrier and how different people from other countriees think of attacking the same issues we have at work.

Food wise, oh, where do I start. I loved the pastries, cafe' with creme/milk and delicate desserts. The French cuisine is too rich for my taste and I don't really care for pattes and foie gras (duck/goose liver). On the last night, a bunch of us decided to have Italian food at a nearby restaurant from our hotel. It turned out that the owner and his two chefs were Frenchman. The food was great! The lasagne was not "American lasagne" with the layers of pasta and meat and sauce, instead it's layers of fine mozarella cheese over slices of tomatoies and greens. The tiramisu is unlike the commercial ones you buy from the shops here but a thick hand made of whipped cream over a thin layer of decadent chocolate cake and cocoa powder. I personally don't like tiramisu due to the alcohol used but this was excellent.

The only disappointment is not visiting Paris to see all the famous landmarks - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre - to name a few. We got word that there was a strike and there were no trains going into Paris. The cab drivers did not want to go into Paris either because of the traffic. Strikes are very common in France and as a tourist, very annoying and unpredictable. So, give yourself some travel room to make sure you still get to see the sights when these events present themselves. I look back at this trip with a big smile...I can't complain, life is good.

Funny thing at dinner

Had mash potatoes with gravy. My daughter kept pointing to it. So, I spooned a little for her. She resisted and kept pointing at the gravy. So, gave her some of that and she was cooing with joy. When she tasted it, she spat it out. Then, we realized something. She thought the gravy was chocolate pudding (her favorite). Kids.... :-D

Shrek II (from my daughter's view....)

I love watching my daughter watch Shrek II. She has watched that movie enough to play out the opening scene of Shrek and Fiona's honeymoon. What's fascinating is that she can act out the scenes before they play. For example, the red riding hood (RRH) scream when she saw Shrek and Fiona. We will hear the scream before RRH. Cracks me up all the time.

Meetings

Ever wonder how much time we all spend in meetings? Do you have meetings to have a meeting or to get things done? Well, I had a little of both this week. How does anyone get anything done if you spend 50-60% of your working hours in meetings? If you are lucky, you walk away from one without having actionable items. If you are not, when do you find the time to take action? "It's a vicious cycle!"

If you are the facilitator, IMHO that's even worse. Trying to get everyone on the same time to meet. I ended up cancelling some of them just because it was near impossible to schedule. And to some, I would say "Tough, would have liked to have you in the meeting but can't fit everyone in. So, please read the meeting minutes or attached presentation and call if you have any questions. Thanks and you have a nice day."

The sad part is that's acceptable practice because there's always the "reschedule". Not to forget the convenience of online calendars in our email systems for someone to invite you to a meeting. I knew of someone who turned on the auto accept of meeting invites. Sometimes, they show up not even knowing what the meeting was about!

Here's a tip: Pick a day and just book the entire day called "MY TIME". That should stop some of those online invites. Note the "some" not "ALL".