TRAVEL: a weekend home

This weekend I am looking forward to some R&R and sleeping in. Traveling and getting down to business on Monday! Enjoy your weekend!

2012: a passionate work culture

I follow Fast Company on Twitter and read the article "8 Rules For Creating a Passionate Work Culture" yesterday. It starts out talking about Ken Thomson, who was at one time the 9th richest man in the world (worth billions), who insisted a can of soup for lunch, department store suits, and his old patched up shoes  suited him just fine. And while Thomson left behind an empire of millions and a collection of fine art, his real legacy was the relationships he built and nurtured. Humbling coming from a man practically made of money. Anyways, the whole thing is about hiring people who feel and are valued, remaining self-aware in a business sense, and acknowledging what is or is not working. My favorite part: "Cultive good people and keep them." Seriously, take the 3 minutes and read it. As for the 8 rules:

1. Hire the right people

2. Communicate 

3. Tend to the weeds

4. Work hard, play hard

5. Be ambitious

6. Celebrate differences

7. Create the space

8. Take the long view

2012: each day too short

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, & all the friends I want to see." - John Burroughs

Feeling so thankful and content this week, even - especially - for the little things.

TRAVEL: memorial day recap

                           

                                               

Spent the weekend with 2 best friends in Delaware. It was one of those weekends that was just good for the soul. I left Minnesota and it was windy and rainy.. only to arrive to sunshine in Philadelphia! Thursday evening consisted of dinner and talking over each other (pretty typical) with lots to catch up on.

Friday was so very cultural with a trip to the Liberty Bell (couldn't quite crop out the khaki-wearing, tennis-shoe-sporting, back-pack-hauling tourists in the back) and also an afternoon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which I highly recommend. I got to see some of my favorite artists (Rothko, Pollock, Degas, Cezanne.. and the list goes on).

Saturday was all-day adventure of white water rafting in the Lehigh Valley. The day started and ended with a 2+ hour drive - part of the scenery beautiful yet deserted and creepy... like the kind of road that takes you directly to a haunted house. [Anyway]. Rafting was a blast - the 3 of us ended up with a friendly couple from Lancaster and we strained every arm/shoulder/back muscle that we had. The last 1.5 hours were spent in the pouring rain. I'm not talking heavy rain.. I'm talking pouring rain. But what are vacations for if not to make some memories? And we did - it was hilarious.

Sunday was beach day. We headed to Atlantic City to spend the day on the Jersey Shore. [Insert witty comment here.] There was a light breeze and not a cloud in the sky... but now I'm pretty sure my skin could have used some cloud cover and a few more rounds of SPF 30. Relaxing day ending in dinner and LOTS (read bottles) of aloe vera lotion.

Monday came too soon and before I knew it my flight landed and I was driving down 52 and pulling into the driveway. 2 lovely dinner guests and unpacking rounded out the long weekend. Feeling tired and fulfilled heading into this week. Also, you deserve a prize for reading this far! Hope you also enjoyed the holiday weekend.

2012: delawhere?

Flip flops packed and Delaware-bound for the long weekend. I can hardly wait to get there and let the fun begin. Wishing you a very American weekend!

2012: invincible summer

Says it all.

WORK: david schwen

OMG, clever illustrations by David Schwen. LOL. Simple. Big fan. Also, things are busy right now. Well, busier than they usually are. Moving, job searching.. you know, minor things. I'm just trying to justify my lack of blogging recently - hope all is well for you!