My New Venture

A little over three months ago I ran out of eye cream.  Instead of running out and buying another bottle of what I had been using (which didn’t seem to be making a difference anyway), I decided to take it as an opportunity to seek out other options.   My dark circles had started to become embarrassing and I was determined to find a solution.

The following week during casual conversation at work, a co-worker (and friend) of mine told me about this amazing new product that she had been using and recently became a consultant for.  It only took me one look at her results pictures and I just had to try it.  After 2 weeks of use I was already seeing (and feeling) a difference.  After 25 days I did a comparison to my before pictures and was stunned at just how much my dark circles had been reduced.  I was floored.  It was also at that time that I decided I wanted to share this product with everyone I know and become a consultant for Nerium.

If you’re worried about getting older (and let’s face it, we ALL are) and are sick of having to use multiple products to get results, then I strongly suggest you try Nerium.  NeriumAD is the only product to contain the patented NAE-8 antioxidant extract and was formulated to improve the appearance of:

·         fine lines

·         uneven skin texture

·         enlarged pores

·         wrinkles

·         sun damaged skin

·         hyperpigmentation

·         aging

If you've heard of Nerium but didn’t know where to get it, you can order directly from my site which can be found at the top right hand corner of my blog.  If you’re not quite ready to buy yet, Nerium offers a 30 day money back guarantee.  So you can have a 30 day trial for FREE!  But if you don’t want to commit to 30 days, I can provide you with a free 5 day trial.  Just email me for more details.

Becoming an independent brand parter with Nerium is a bit of new territory for me. While I have worked retail in the past, this is completely different.  I’m not a pushy person by nature so I was hesitant to sign up.  I've come to realize, however, that I don’t need to be pushy and “sell” Nerium.  As corny as it sounds, it can sell itself.  I am just here to provide samples and information to anyone who is interested in trying it.   I would love to one day be earning a big enough paycheck from Nerium that I can start working less at my full time job and spend more time with my family  (and a free Lexus wouldn’t be too shappy either).  But for now I’m happy enough with my dark circle free eyes and glowing skin :)

Bad Mail

One late night after work last week, I was sorting through the mail and I came across an envelope stuck in-between the birthday cards I was opening.  I knew right away what it was without even seeing a word written on it.  Just from the way it looked I knew it had those two little words stamped in red across the font.  Those 11 letters we all dread... Jury Summons.  Mother f#?@!%.

The last time I got called was over 13 years ago when I was in college out of state.  I was excused from service back then so I've avoided it about as long as I'll ever be able to.  I guess that means you could call me a jury duty virgin since I’ve never ever gone or served. I am due to report April 1 (if my number is called) so this should be interesting...  To be honest, the ‘Law & Order watching’ half of me kinda wants to be picked for a cool case, but the ‘I have a life and don’t want to be sequestered for weeks away from my family’ half of me doesn’t.   We'll have to wait and see what happens on April fools day ;-)  

Way to Go Sheryl!

Yesterday CNN posted an interesting article about Sheryl Sandberg – the COO of Facebook. (check out the article HERE) It talked about how for the past couple of years Sheryl has left work at 5:30 to have dinner with her kids.  Sounds like a silly topic to write an article about, right??  Wrong.  Many working moms (including myself) find that there still exists a stigma if you leave the office before 5:30.  I’ve heard people joke “working a half day today, huh?” as I walk out of the office.  What business is it of theirs!   What isn’t apparent to others is that although I leave at 5:00 (most days) my work doesn’t stop.  I work through my lunch, work from the train and plug back in after my son goes to sleep to get my work done.  :::sigh::: Why do I feel the need to justify my hours?

The article talks about how “long hours and constant availability are taken as proxies for commitment and competence”.  Like the author, I find it to be quite the opposite.  Flexible working can promote productivity & commitment.  I find that I’m more productive during the day since I know I have to get out at a certain time.  What about the people who are doing personal errands during the day or playing on facebook?  Just because they stay until 7pm to make up the time they goofed off during the day doesn’t make them a better employee.

 I do find in my profession that most people come in late & work late, it’s just the nature of our business.  If you’re not in the office at 7 pm then you’re viewed to not be working hard enough.  Before I was married, working until 7 or 8 pm was my norm.  But everything changed when I had a family and I’m very lucky my job accommodated the change.  Overall, my philosophy for both myself and the people who work for me is that as long as you can get your work done I don’t’ care if you do it from outer space.

It’s sad that we as society have to write an article congratulating ourselves on spending time with our family.  It should be a given.  I applaud Sheryl for being open about her priorities and urging others to follow her lead, however I can’t help but wonder that if this was a man would we even be talking about it?

Celebrating Working Mothers!

This past week I spent 2 days at the Working Mother 2011 Work Life Congress that was held in NYC.  The theme for the two days was:  

How to Succeed in Business -- with Work Life! 

Leaders from corporate, government & education spoke about the many issues busy working moms face and how we (the collective we) need to do more than “talk the talk”.   The conference offered workshops on topics such as the best ways to implement successful flexible work programs, dependent care needs and innovative strategies for engaging men in the dialogue for work life support and effectiveness.  There was also a silent auction, from which all proceeds benefited the Museum Of Motherhood and on the second day, Working Mother held their annual Gala Dinner honoring the 100 Best Companies and the Working Mothers of the Year.  One day soon I hope to see my company not only be an attendee at this dinner, but also honored as one of the top 100 Companies.

The best speaker at the conference, in my opinion, was the keynote speaker on day 1 - Amy Hilbrich Davis, Founder & CEO of FamilyLife Success.  The majority of her talk focused around her 5 Key Ingredients to Family Success:

1.       Personal Wellness

2.       Partner Relationship

3.       Parenting Skills

4.       Support Network

5.       Home & Family Management

In her talk, she mentioned an interesting fact from her research that surprised me - 2 out of 3 parents do not feel successful with their parenting life, regardless if they work or not.   I guess managing the work conflict is not a complete solution.  Amy spoke at last year’s conference as well, which I very much enjoyed.  She presented a workshop on her inspiring mom balance map - a personalized document that helps you focus on and prioritize the things that matter most to you.

Another interesting (and quite shocking) fact that was brought up during the conference is that The United States remains one out of three countries that don’t mandate paid maternity leave (link to article is here).  To try and do something about it, Working Mother Magazine has partnered with the National Partnership for Women & Families to start an online petition to Congress.  They are asking for paid parental leave to be universally available to U.S. workers by 2015.

Join the fight by signing the petition & passing the link around.  America's Working Parents Deserve Paid Family Leave! 

Overall, I’m glad I attended the conference as there was a lot of interesting conversations though the workshops and it was also a great networking opportunity to meet other working moms.