Thank Goodness For Mothers Who Like To Shop
Oct 28 2007

My mother was in town recently for a quick visit.  She helped me go through my entire wardrobe and get rid of pretty much all of my pre-mommy and mommy clothes (up to 10 years old!) that were way out of style needed to go.  We took literally bags and bags of old clothes to the Goodwill.   She then helped me find and gifted me some really nice, new clothes.  I had several moments of sticker shock as I saw how expensive clothes have become!  I usually shop at Target, Ross, or Costco so you can guess how many times I said “Are you sure, mom?”  And she said “Yes, I’m sure.  Now is the time in your life to dress for success.  You are only young once.”  Isn’t she great!

One joke in our family is that I was born without the shopping gene.  Growing up I was more than content to wear torn jeans and shoes with holes in them.  My mother would secretly throw them away when I wasn’t looking which resulted in a few teenage tantrums on my part.  I know she meant well, and she didn’t want other people to think she had a teenage daughter who dressed like a street urchin boy, but at the time I thought she was ruining my life.  I’m sure that episode will re-run in our house in some form or fashion when our daughter hits her teenage years.

She and I both felt that since I was spring boarding back into the business world, I should have a few modern outfits to wear instead of my old Levi jeans and Target tees. 🙂

Now if I can only find those elusive, perfect shoes that are stylish yet without a “who can walk on those without breaking their back and tripping on the sidewalk?!?” heels to go with all of these nice new clothes….

Thanks Mom!

P.S.  By the way, I admire organizations like Goodwill because their mission “is to enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families and our community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment.”  I like non-profit organizations that help create jobs.  The Goodwill store sells clothes that are donated in stores that are staffed by volunteers and paid employees.

Who is on the Technorati A-List?
Sep 19 2007

Earlier today, I read a post on Wendy Piersall’s eMoms at Home blog about the Technorati A-List.  As of September 19, 2007 Wendy has a Technorati rank of 2,115.  Yes, her blog is in the top 5K at Technorati.  Awesome Wendy!  Interestingly, Technorati is not reflecting her last several posts yet so her rank is probably even better than that.

One of her goals is to make it into the top 100 blogs list.   She ponders that goal and highlights some interesting facts in her post (see below)…

“Before I begin, here are some fast facts:

• 11% of blogs on the current Technorati Top 100 blogs are led by or singly authored by women (maybe 12%, because I am unsure of the gender of the author of ICanHasCheesburger). They are:
  • Ariana Huffington
  • Michelle Malkin (twice)
  • Kathy Sierra (now retired)
  • Sina
  • Megan Frost
  • Peety Passion
  • Ilker Yoldas (my bad for the initial omission!)
  • Heather Onnen
  • Dooce
  • Xiaxue

• Yet, more women than men are bloggers, with 20% of American women who have visited blogs having their own versus 14 % of men (Synovate.com).

Before you guys get your tightie whities in a knot, this isn’t an accusation. Here’s a few more stats for you:

According to ComScore, the most visited blog topics break down as follows:

• 43% of people visited a political or news blog
• 17% of people visited a “Hipster” blog
• 15% of people visited a tech blog
• 8% of people visited a women’s blog
• 8% of people visited a media blog
• 6% of people visited a personal blog
• 3% of people visited a business blog

And keeping in mind that blogs in general are in the tech industry, overall for every one woman employed in high-tech, there are 4 men alongside her.”

Her post was prompted by a post made by Pearl at Interesting Observations called Male-Female Ratios of 50 Influential Blogs and more.  Fascinating information!  I wonder how they determine the gender of their readers.  I don’t know how many of my readers are men and how many are women.  Is that a new Feedburner Flare that I’m unaware of? 🙂

BTW, I love Pearl’s avatar.  I’m guessing it’s an elf but it also brings to mind a Vulcan.  (I’m a sci-fi gal)!

I am not trying to get entrepreMusings in the top 100 because I know I don’t have the time to invest in making that happen right now, but I do want to support these women (and men whose blogs I read often) who do want to achieve that goal…just let me know how!

Mommy Track’d Ecards
Sep 4 2007

I  just heard about these fabulous Ecards at Mommy Track’d.  They are hilarious!  Comics are a great way to make fun of things — especially us working moms!  😀

Fortunately for me, I get to work out of my home!

Here are two of my favorites:

   �

Do Parents Make Better Managers?
Aug 24 2007

I found a link to an article called Mums & Dads Best Managers on Stonyfield Farm’s blog called Baby Babble which was copied from an earlier Do Parents Make Better Managers? Forbes.com article.

Do Parents Make Better Managers?
by Hannah Clark
02.27.07, 3:00 PM ET

Perhaps business schools should start teaching parenting classes.

According to new research, parents–at least those committed to family life–actually perform better in the office. Researchers from Clark University and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., interviewed 347 managers and executives, mostly from large public companies, about their family lives. Then they talked to the participants’ colleagues, subordinates and bosses about their work performance.

Those who were committed to family life achieved significantly better reviews. The reason: Parents learn to multitask, handle stress and negotiate, says Marian N. Ruderman, research director at the Center for Creative Leadership, and one of the study’s authors.

In Pictures: 10 Reasons Parents Make Better Managers

“In parenting roles you get a chance to do a lot of the same things you do as a manager,” Ruderman says. “You get to hone your interpersonal skills. You learn how to develop other people. It’s another opportunity to learn from experience.”
More…

What do you think?

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – The Art of War for Women
Aug 15 2007

At the Working Mother Multicultural Conference (POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.), I skipped the morning of the 2nd day to play with my nephew, but I made it just in time to hear Chin-Ning Chu, author of the new book The Art of War for Women – Sun Tzu’s Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work.   I am glad I did!

Deutsche Bank was the sponsor for that event so we all got a free signed copy of her book!  Amazing, right?  I started reading it on my return flight home and sadly, hers was the book I left in the back seat pocket in front of me after arriving 3 hours late around midnight.  As I mentioned, I called Delta Airlines Lost and Found a few times and guess what?  They NEVER returned my phone call even just to tell me they had not found it.  I guess what they say about the airlines is true..’customer service?  what’s that?’  Sigh.

So I ended up buying it from Amazon and it just came in the mail this weekend.  I was hoping to have been able to read the book before doing this post, but this post is next in line.  I’m already optimistic that it will be a great book though!  I will update this post later for any insights I gain.  You can buy her book by clicking on the Amazon link below and if you do we’ll get a small piece of the transaction pie.  😀

Based on her presentation, Chin-ning struck me as a very intelligent, insightful, and humorous speaker who was comfortable with her inablity to speak proper English!  Thanks to her editors, she joked about how if she, who writes and speaks broken English, can be a best selling author then we could do anything we set our minds to. 🙂

Picture by: Rohanna Mertens of Doug Goodman Photography

More posts to come on the conference…

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Exploring Power Dynamics in the “Executive Suite”
Aug 14 2007

At the Working Mother Multicultural Conference (POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.), I attended a fascinating workshop called Exploring Power Dynamics in the “Executive Suite.” Some very high level women discussed their experiences on their way up the ladder.  The workshop was coordinated by Dr. Vanessa J. Weaver of Alignment Strategies, Inc.  Dr. Weaver is wearing the wonderful royal blue suit on the very far left of the picture below.  I’m the 6th person to the right of her wearing the lighter blue/turquoise top (in a future post I’ll mention this top again).

The primary thought leaders of the group were:

JoAnn Heisen, Chief Diversity Officer and former CIO at Johnson & Johnson
Susan J. Onuma, Partner at Kelley, Drye & Warren, LLP and President of the Japanese American Association in New York
Aida Sabo, Director of Diversy at EMC
Sheryl Tucker, Executive Managing Editor at Time, Inc.

They shared openly and honestly about their experiences in corporate America…the good, the bad, and the ugly…from personal to professional stories.  I was fortunate to shake hands with each of them and have since exchanged email with some of them.  I wish them all continued success and appreciate them sharing their POWER with us during this workshop!

We discussed:

Do You Need A Wife?
Aug 13 2007

A friend sent me a link to this article: Wedded to Work, and in Dire Need of a Wife in the New York Times by Shira Boss.  My husband is great and does a lot of things to help with the kids and the house, but I’m still the one making sure the parties get planned, the thank you notes get sent, the gifts are bought for other kids parties, schedule the kid’s doctor’s appointments, etc.  Mostly because my schedule is more flexible.  I have to say I do love planning their parties though.  Our son just had his 5th birthday party (I’ll blog about it later) and it was so much fun! 🙂

Now that women have solidly earned their place in the work force, many find themselves still yearning for something men often have: wives.

“The thing I most want in life is a wife. I’m not kidding,” said Joyce Lustbader, a research scientist at Columbia University, who has been married for 29 years. “I work all day, sometimes seven days a week, and still have to go home and make dinner and have all those things to do around the house.”

It is not just the extra shift at home that is a common complaint. Working women, whether married or single, also see their lack of devoted spousal support as an impediment to getting ahead in their careers, especially when they are competing against men who have wives behind them, whether those wives are working or staying at home. And research supports their argument: it appears that marriage, at least marriage with children, bolsters a man’s career but hinders a woman’s.

One specialist in women’s studies dismissed wife envy as something women “are usually joking about” and another called it “a need for a second set of hands, regardless of gender.” But therapists who work with couples on equality issues say it is no joke.

“I hear it all the time,” said Robin Stern, a psychotherapist in Manhattan and author of “The Gaslight Effect.” “It’s a real concern. Things that used to be routinely taken care of during the week are not anymore.”

With two-income families now the norm, and both men and women working a record-breaking number of hours, the question has become how to accomplish what used to be a wife’s job, even as old-fashioned standards of household management and entertaining have been relaxed. Many men are sharing the work of chores and child care with their wives, and some do it all as single parents, but women still generally shoulder a greater burden of household business (or fretting over how to do what is not getting done). 

According to 2006 survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in five men engages in some kind of housework on an average day, while more than half of women do.

more…

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Working Mother Conference – Instant Polling
Aug 7 2007

Soon after the Opening Keynote with Dr. Bertice Berry at the Working Mother Multicultural Conference (POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.), they did a fascinating Instant Polling session sponsored by Ford Motor Company.  To view the pdf version of the full PowerPoint presentation courtesy of Working Mother Magazine, please click here: Instant Polling Presentation.

Some of the slides I found most interesting are as follows: 

I was thrilled that over 55% of attendees made more than $100K!  We’ve come a long way baby!  I am in in the 7% group making under $49K because I’m starting my own business.  In the early days of a startup you are lucky if you make anything!  If luck smiles on us, then I will be in the > $100K category some day!

Women feel most powerful at home because that is where they have seen/been told their role is in society.  Even top executive women generally feel the same according to this poll.  Also, unfortunately if they feel they do have power in the workplace, it presents challenges in their intimate relationships (i.e., we have a hard time finding an equal partner who is comfortable with our power.)

It was interesting to see what super power each person would like.  I think I voted for the ability to time travel, but I remember it being a toss up between that and reading people’s minds.  I guess I figured if I could time travel I would figure out how to read people’s minds. 🙂

Other things I found interesting:

+ 42% of attendees did not have children (despite it being a Working Mother Conference)

+ 32% were mid-level executives and 15% were senior level executives

+ 43% of Asian-Americans, 41% of Caucasions, 35% of Latinas, 40% of Multi-racial women, and 46% of Men felt “My confidence in my skills and knowledge makes me powerful.”  Whereas 38% of Black/African American, 100% of Native Americans, and 46% of Men felt “My belief in my purpose in life is my source of power.”  Keep in mind I think there were about 5 guys and 2 Native Americans.

More posts to come on the conference…

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Working Mother Conference – Dr. Bertice Berry
Aug 3 2007

The opening keynote speaker at the Working Mother Multicultural Conference (POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.) on July 23, 2007 was Dr. Bertice Berry, Educator, Lecturer, Sociologist, and Author of:

When Love Calls, You Better Answer
I’m On My Way, But Your Foot is On My Head
Straight From the Ghetto
You Might Be Ghetto If
You STILL Ghetto 

She is downright hilarious!  She had us practically rolling on the floor laughing!  Oh and she’s also a beautiful singer.  She sang for us and the room was still.  She is famous for saying “When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny!”

I was only able to speak to her for a few seconds.  Sadly another woman blatantly interrupted our 45 second conversation making my conversation with her a bit disjointed.  I’m not sure why people do that.  I try to stand back and let people open and finish a dialogue with a speaker out of respect.  I also try to find times when the speaker is not so overwhelmed with people trying to talk to her to introduce myself. 

Despite the interruption, I could just feel the POWER she exuded.  I plan on getting her recent book When Love Calls, You Better Answer.  She was selling books at the conference but the table was so crowded, I figured I’d better buy it on Amazon.com later.  Maybe she’ll see this post and let me buy an autographed copy directly from her! 😀

Pictures by: Rohanna Mertens of Doug Goodman Photography

More posts to come on the conference…

Musings of a Texas Gal in NYC – Working Mother Conference Opening – POWER
Aug 1 2007

What a fabulous opening!  I don’t think I have ever attended a conference with such an energetic opening.  Believe me…we were ALL awake at the end of it.

The Drum Cafe got the audience involved by asking us to use these wonderful different colored musical tubes called Boomwhackers that we had in front of us.  The leader of the group had each table use their boomwhackers to create harmony in order to help us begin the process of getting in touch with our Power.  The theme of the Multicultural Women’s conference was POWER: OWN IT. — USE IT. SHARE IT.

The flower girls from Drum Cafe were beautiful!  Several of us felt quite confident that we would not be able to wear those outfits and look as great as they did! 🙂

The picture below is of the dancers dancing to the music we were making with our boomwhackers.
 

Pictures by: Rohanna Mertens of Doug Goodman Photography

More posts to come on the conference…

Working Mother Conference in NYC
Jul 21 2007

I’m going on a trip ‘on my favorite rocket ship!’  Well not really a rocket ship but on my not-so-favorite cramped plane.  I am attending the Working Mother Magazine Conference on Multicultural Companies in NYC next week.  I was planning to go anyway to help my cousin with her new baby and wasn’t sure I would even get into the conference but after I booked the tickets, they emailed me to let me know I could attend on a scholarship basis.  Yay! 😀

I’m looking forward to meeting some amazing women at the conference but most of all I’m looking forward to meeting my new little nephew! 🙂

With all the recent press about flying with kids, I’m kind of glad my kids are staying behind with their Dad!

So, as you may have guessed, posting will be light next week unless I have a brainstorm of ideas that I can write about and schedule for future posting.

Aruni

Most moms actually prefer to work part-time! I didn’t realize this was news.
Jul 12 2007

Part-Time Looks Fine To Working Mothers 
By Donna St. George at washingtonpost.com
A new majority of working moms in the United States would be happiest in part-time jobs, with fewer seeing full-time work as an ideal, according to a study released today.

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-Time Jobs:
Percent of mothers who said working full time, part time or not at all would be ideal for them.

I feel the same and that’s why I think working from home (even though to be honest my kids go to pre-school/care during the day) so that I can balance my time with my family is important.  Most of the time, I love my entrepreneurial career and I love hanging out with my kids.  🙂

I can take a day and spend it with my kids when I want.  When one of them is sick I can stay home with them.  I can also pay bills, clean the house,  do dishes, do some household shopping, etc.  Fortunately, my husband is a great Dad so if I have an offsite meeting to attend (like I did today) and he’s not traveling, he can usually stay with them if they are sick.

The one thing to be careful of is that sometimes when working from home and/or part-time, we end up working a lot more than we realize because we work on & off during the day thereby defeating the purpose of working part time/flexible hours to spend quality time with the kids.  It’s a tough balance that we moms (and dads) continue to strive for.  The Lactivist said it well in her Sucking it Up and Admitting You Aren’t Wonder Woman post.

Aruni