Monthly Archives: May 2013

Follow Friday: The Vesume’ Group

My friend, Gini Dietrich, does Follow Friday on twitter in a cool way and I’ve been meaning to emulate her for a while now. She chooses one person that she follows and highlights them on her blog.

Back in the day, when I was a very new little twitter bird, my friend Patrick Allmond wrote a blog post about why he didn’t do Follow Friday. It made a whole bunch of sense to me and so I also adopted the practice of not doing strings and strings of #FF tweets. I wish I could share that post with you now.  Patrick doesn’t have it posted anymore but, trust me, it made sense. 🙂

My main thought, before reading Patrick’s post was, “What if I miss someone who is awesome?” And I have a lot of awesome followers. All of them in fact. But, I started seeing Gini’s method and thought that would be cool, too. Highlight one awesome person every week.

The Vesume' Group

So today, I feel compelled finally to do just that. And the follower I want to give a shout out to is The Vesume Group.

The Vesume Group is an innovative staffing and employment agency placing IT, Engineering, Accounting/Finance, Manufacturing, and Call Center professionals in  Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Now, my background is not in any of those fields and I don’t live in Massachusetts or New Hampshire (but I would) so why, you ask, am I making them the choice for my first Follow Friday blog post?

I visited a similar agency in Tulsa on Tuesday. And I did a video resume. I was excited about that because I like to do video and the premise that the video can open a door better than a paper resume really resonated with me. I often wonder how good my paper resume’ is but was told yesterday it contains good stuff.

Anyway…

I tweeted that I had gotten my video resume’ in four takes and I believe that’s when The Vesume’ Group followed me and responded:

We continued to chat and they told me that I now needed to put my video resume’ every where including right in my Linkedin profile. Well, I was so chicken. I was going to keep it unlisted and then send the link out to prospective employers when I sent my resume’.

Oooh controlling the first impression. I love it! And they are right, that’s exactly what a video resume’ does. But I was really nervous and said so. To which they responded:

Well, you all know I can’t be anyone but me so I took the plunge and put it everywhere. I don’t feel so weird about it now that I’ve slept on it. It’s not that different from any other video I’ve done except maybe my hair looks better and that’s a good thing. 😉

So, if you are an IT, Engineering, Accounting/Finance, Manufacturing, or Call Center professional looking for contract, contract-to-hire, and permanent positions throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, I would tell you that you should contact The Vesume’ Group to help you in your job search.

If they are as helpful to someone who is not in one of those industries, sitting way out in Oklahoma, imagine what they can do for you.

If you aren’t one of the people described above, I still recommend you follow The Vesume’ Group on twitter because they are good people. And you can’t have too many good people in your twitter stream. 🙂

Thank you so much to The Vesume’ Group for being so awesome to me and encouraging me in a rare moment of “holy smokes I can’t do that”. You rock!

 

Skinny Bitch in Love – Book Review

Skinny Bitch in LoveSkinny Bitch in Love by Kim Barnouin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! I wanted to eat every single dish Clementine cooked/baked in the book and I am most definitely a carnivore. It was fun to go along with her on her dream of owning her own restaurant and ending up with the unlikely man of her dreams. Once I started reading this book, I did not stop. All in one day! It’s a terrific read. 🙂

View all my reviews

3 HIIT observations

This is day three of my new HIIT workout program and I really like it. Today, while I was on the trail, I had three observations about this new workout or HIITservations, if you will. 🙂

hiit

1, I am my own biggest cheerleader. During the 30 second run-as-hard-as-I-can intervals, I find myself coaching Me. It’s like I’m standing on the sidelines watching myself almost winning a race and knowing if I can cheer loud enough I will make it. Sometimes, I imagine I’m a secret agent and bad Russian guys are after me  but mostly, I put myself in race mode. Go, Lauri, go! 🙂

2. I’m sore differently. I think most people get sore when they start training, especially if it’s a different program than before. With this plan, I feel it most in my inner thighs and where I sit. Ladies, this is NOT a bad thing. 🙂 I drink 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a bottle of water as soon as I get back to my car and I’m walking around stretching and cooling down. I found out, when I was learning the kettlebell swing, that this combo is really effective at fighting DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

3. I’m going faster than I thought. Today when I did my first run interval, I thought, “Holy moly, this is strange”, Because I’m sore differently, I feel like I’m running slower and having to push harder. Or maybe, because I thought I was running slower, I pushed harder. I don’t know which it is but the truth of the matter is, I arrived at the half approximately 30 seconds faster than on Wednesday. I meant to start the Runkeeper today to keep track of that but only remembered it after the second set. I’ll need to remember at the beginning from now on.

In any case, I really love this workout. I’m currently doing 8 sets of 30 second run intervals followed by 1:30 brisk walk intervals to catch my breath. As I progress, I’ll modify these times.

If you haven’t done HIIT before, I encourage you to give it a try. It seems to be a really effective workout and takes only about 30 minutes as I’m doing it now. Go, you, go! 🙂

PSA – Brought to you by the letters D, P, and R

I’ve started doing HIIT – high intensity interval training. I’ve read about it for a really long time and finally decided it was the next frontier and it was time to go there.

Pathfinder Parkway

I like to run on the Pathfinder Parkway. It’s pretty and quiet and even though there are usually a lot of cars in the parking lot, you encounter people only rarely. I love it.

Monday was the first time I’ve been to the Pathfinder since returning to Bartlesville and it struck me how much dog poop is littering the path.

poop pile1

Today, there was a pile RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the path.

poop pile2

Now, they don’t call me Lauri Grace for nothing. I have a hard enough time running and not face planting without slip sliding off of my feet via a pile of dog poop.

Seriously, folks. Would you want to step in a pile of someone else’s dog poop while you’re trying to exercise in the beauty of nature? Would you want to step in a pile of your own dog’s poop?

Clean up after your pet

Here’s what we know, you and I: dogs poop.

For that reason, when you take your dog outside, you should be prepared.  Bring a bag to clean up after them.

It’s been made super easy to do this. You can get these cute little bone shaped plastic bag dispensers that you attach to your dog’s leash so they are always there. You can buy these at a pet store or – beauty – you can get them at the Dollar Tree for a mere dollar.

poop bag holder

And, dig this, you can get a three pack of replacement bag rolls also at the Dollar Tree for a tiny dollar.

After you pick up after your dog, as a responsible dog owner would, the City has even graciously placed a trash bin at the entrance of the path so you can make a deposit. Easy peasy.

bin

So c’mon friends and fellow Pathfinderites, let’s consider our fellow exercisers and save them from a stinky, broken experience.

Thank you.

This PSA brought to you by the letters D, P, and R. (Dog Pooping Responsibly)

Molly D. Campbell – The Soul Selects Her Own Society

Molly D. CampbellToday’s post is by Molly Campbell. Molly and I connected a few years ago on twitter and I have so enjoyed knowing her. I know you will enjoy this guest post by Molly.

I am reading a book about Emily Dickinson.  I love her poems, but I am more fascinated with her life.  She became a recluse in her family mansion in early adulthood.  She loved to bake; evidently she walked about the house covered in flour.  She wrote beautiful and pithy poetry that speaks to all of us.

I have often thought that it would be very romantic to become a recluse myself.  Of course, in order to be a happy recluse, you must have a beautiful place to hide in.  I think I have finally achieved that.  My house is now, after we have lived here for twenty years, nicely decorated, and every room is beautiful. It also seems to me that there is an irony involved.  Recluses need nice surroundings, but the recluses I am familiar with were INDIFFERENT to those surroundings most of the time.

This is because a recluse must have a life’s work.  Otherwise, staying home twenty four seven would get very boring.  So I would need a beautiful room to work in.  I would require a desk placed in front of a window, so that I could watch the world go by and ruminate about the neighbors, the surroundings, and the outside world.  There would have to be inspiring art on the walls. Granted, as a successful recluse I would become inured to all the beauty of my study, but rules are rules!

This brings me to the life’s work.  Problematic, because I can’t think of a subject large enough to consume me every day.  Recluses are devoted single-mindedly to a life passion.  My only real passion is pets.  Could I spend every day in my workroom thinking about cats, writing about dogs, or researching animal diseases? Could I become a crusader for animal rights right there in my little room?  Not likely.  In the midst of a treatise on dog fighting, I would need a snack.  While researching Von Willenbrand’s Syndrome, I would look out the window and realize the bird feeder was empty.  Are recluses allowed out in the yard with sunflower seed?

Successful recluses have doting families who do their shopping, invite guests over in order to freshen the outlook of the shut-in, and accomplish all the tasks that the recluse simply can’t do, by virtue of the fact of being a recluse.  I don’t have that kind of family.  My husband is always gone.  He is the opposite of reclusive.  My kids aren’t around, either.  I don’t have any loyal retainers to do my bidding.  I think servants are a prerequisite for recluses.  HERMITS, on the other hand, live completely alone, don’t want any family ties, and shun the concept of servitude for anyone.  By that definition, being a hermit is totally out, as far as I am concerned.

Back to the reclusive life.  I think a successful recluse must also have a highly developed sense of the  small. Spending all day at home, every day, would require an appreciation of life’s little details.  For instance, I am sure that Emily Dickinson reveled in the dust motes in the air around her, watching as they swirled and caught the sun.  She probably counted the pleats in her peplum.  I feel confident that looking out the window at the garden was tantamount to meditation for her.  I am not good at this.  I have no idea how many buttons are on my favorite cardigan.  I have noticed that there is dust on tops of all the picture frames, but that is about it.

Recluses often carry on long conversations with friends by exchanging letters.  Emily Dickinson maintained lifelong relationships with a number of people, some of whom published her letters to them.  Thus, she was able to make her friendssomewhat famous, just because they knew her.  Today’s recluse would have access to Facebook and Twitter.  I can just imagine what dandy tweets Emily could churn out.

I did actually try out the reclusive lifestyle last winter, when I had a skin cancer on my face that required surgery of Frankensteinian proportions.  I was on a recliner in my TV room for two weeks.  It was hell.  Without Netflix, a cell phone, and Facebook as lifelines, I would have descended into sheer madness.  It is because of this experience that I have such admiration for Emily and her ilk.

If Emily were around today, would she restyle her life?  Would she at least talk with her friends using Skype?  Would she still bake gingerbread from scratch, or would she use a mix?  Would she have a cell phone and carry on conversations with fellow intellectuals from the safety of her room?  Is it possible to be a productive recluse in today’s world without the use of technology?  I couldn’t do it.  My hat is off to Emily.

“The Soul selects her own Society—

Then–shuts the Door—

To her divine Majority

Present no more

 

Unmoved—she notes the Chariots—pausing

At her low Gate—

Unmoved–an Emperor be kneeling

 

Upon her Mat

I’ve known her—from an ample Nation—

Choose one—

Then—close the Valves of her attention—

Like Stone—“

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Fiction / Short Stories

Rating – PG13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Molly Campbell on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://mollydcampbell.com/

Okay, okay. I’m not Wonder Woman

I like to believe I’m Wonder Woman. And being here by myself a lot of the time, I’ve actually been amazed at what I can do when I try hard enough.

wonderwoman

Yesterday, I had perfectly flat hair. This is an IMPORTANT detail since my hair is pretty curly and it’s kind of time consuming (and impressive!)  for me to achieve that level of flat all on my own. Usually this state is only achieved by professionals.

Anyway, it got hot yesterday. Around 9:00 p.m. I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep with it being hot so I proceeded to try and put the window air conditioner unit into the bedroom window. I had told David to just leave it since it was cool when he left and I’d get to it when it got hot. How hard could it be?

Mistake.

I couldn’t get that thing into the window for anything. It was like wrestling an alligator. And it was hot.

I called David 10 times, sent photos, tried to get an understanding of why this particular unit would not get into place.

I finally got it there and turned it on. I was feeling all happy that, hey, I guess I’m Wonder Woman after all. I was sweaty and my hair was curling up but the air conditioner was in the window and I was going to be able to sleep in cool bliss.

Until…rrrrrrriiiiiipppppp. THUD.

Dang it.

I went into the bedroom and, you’ve got it, I found the cord still plugged into the wall but a gaping hole where the air conditioner had been.

ac

Sigh.

By this time, the country song was just writing itself.

The a/c fell out of the window
But it landed on nobody’s head
It’s just really hot in the bedroom
I don’t think I can go to bed.

I was absolutely, positively sure it was Miller Time and as I sat enjoying my beer, I thought that I really should have just opened the window, taken out the screen and dumped the air conditioner out the window.

At least my hair would have still be straight. 😉

Would you want to know?

When I was in 4th grade, we had a spelling bee. The word I misspelled, knocking me out of the competition, was balloon.

balloon

Ultra competitive even way back then, I vowed I would never, ever misspell a word again. Consequently  I’m a really good speller.

Every morning, I make it a point to read different blog posts that come into my email box while I’m sleeping. Something I’ve seen a LOT this week are misspellings. They jump off the page at me.

When I see that, my first reaction is “Oooooh” Then, ::cringe::

And most of the time, that’s it for me. I’m done reading your blog.

This morning, I found a misspelling in a slideshare presentation  The presentation was really well done but I had the same reaction when I found the misspelling. Especially since the presenter referred to the presentation as a “social resume”.

The person also said they like the truth. So, I decided to contact them and let them know about the misspelling. I hope they won’t be offended when my sincere desire is to help.

I would want to know. For sure.

How about you? If I found a misspelling in your blog post, would you want to know?

 

Carpe-ing the java @CoffeeCON2013 style

Yesterday, was CoffeeCON 2013 (@coffeecon2013) and it was amazing!

Before going to CoffeeCON, I was finally able to meet up with Ruthann (@RAWiesner) for breakfast. She took me to a place where they bring donuts to the table like they bring rolls or chips and salsa at other places.

donuts

How can you not love a place like that? I had an amazing frittata with spinach, bacon and tomatoes. Yum!

Then it was off to the event du jour: CoffeeCON!

Just opening the door you know was fabulous because you could smell all of the different coffee offerings.

coffeec

When we got to CoffeeCON, we found my twitter friend, Debra (@debramariem).

girls

Debra is terrific, too, and we had fun hanging out together, visiting the vendor booths, the classes and our other twitter friends,

Coffee NateCoffee Nate (@CoffeeNate) and Robert Caruso (@fondalo) who were bloggers at the conference.

Lauri Rottmayer, Robert Caruso, Ruthann Wiesner

One of the things I was most looking forward to was talking to the roasters. There were several different options there including a woman who was roasting beans with a heat gun (yes, like the one from Lowe’s) and a guy who had repurposed his hot air popcorn popper to roast coffee. He was very excited with his roaster and was cute to listen to.

There were two roasters, though, that had machines that seem like what I would use to roast coffee which I believe is the next frontier for me.

We watched coffee demos and attended a couple of classes.

demo

I was really taken with the siphon coffee maker and think I’m going to have to have one of those. I was sad that we didn’t get to see the Turkish Coffee demo. She had some kind of a water issue but I did get the instructions for making the coffee so will be trying that at home soon. 🙂

Right before I left, I thanked the show producer, Kevin Sinnot (@coffeekevin), for his fabulous event. He wanted to interview me because I had come from Oklahoma for the show. I did that and said my goodbyes.

interview

It was such a great time. Great coffee, great people. I can’t wait to return next year and bring/meet more friends. Will you join me? 🙂

My crazy mixed up day

Yesterday morning, when I woke up in Oklahoma it was cold, but a sunny pretty day. I was excited because I was headed to CoffeeCON 2013!

I left the house at 7 a.m. It’s super dark to get from our house to the turnpike so I wanted to avoid that if I could be still get to Chicago in time to have dinner with one of my favorite friends I’ve never met, Ruthann Weisner.

By the time I got to Vinita, the day had turned cloudy and overcast. I wasn’t too unhappy with that since it’s pretty hard to drive East in to the rising sun. When I was almost to Joplin, I started seeing patches of snow on the sides of the road and roofs. Oh, isn’t that cute! It really did snow on May 3rd.

By the time I got to Springfield, it was full on snowing including snow plows, cars in the ditches, a flipped over semi truck and an accident on the other side of the road that had traffic backed up for miles.

 

I was happy not to be on that side of the road and I drove carefully (there are idiots out there!) for a little over four hours until I got to Rolla, MO where I usually fill up the first time when I drive to Chicago.

And this happened:

 

Please tell me, how on earth I managed to have clothes for six days and four seasons, twelve pairs of shoes, my computer, two coats (winter, spring), my coffee bag, and a pillow but NO PURSE!

LOL! I’ve never done that before. I called David, a.k.a. my hero, and told him of my plight. He got my purse and another pair of shoes (because you just can’t have too many shoes) and headed the over four hours to bring me my purse.

It was lunch time by then and I was hungry. I had brought toll money because I knew I had to travel on the tollway part of the way to get to my hotel but I had no idea how much it was so I asked on twitter if anyone knew.

tolls

 

Yes, that’s what I figured. A bajillion dollars. Illinois tolls are EXPENSIVE! So I looked around the car. I always have money in the center console and I wasn’t disappointed. I found a bag of dimes that must have been left in there from when we had to use the laundromat at some point.

dimes

Feeling like a panhandler, but a happy panhandler, I went into McDonald’s and paid 33 dimes for my lunch.

David arrived around 3:45 and I was gassed up and back on the road by 4 p.m.

I had put my winter coat on because it was 31 degrees and after sitting in the car for four hours I was chilled through even though I put the heat on periodically.

I stopped for gas the second time in a blinding thunder storm. When I got out of the car, I realized

warm

 

It was 68 degrees. I was pretty sick of driving by that point and the rain made it hard to see since it was getting dark. I drove about ten more miles and that was it. The roads weren’t even wet. I opened my sunroof. 🙂

I finally arrived just before eleven p.m. I had left 16 hours before that and I was never so happy to see a hotel room or bed in my life.

I didn’t get to have dinner with Ruthanne but I’ll be having breakfast with her and I’m super excited to go to CoffeeCON. I hope your Saturday is fabu and unmixed up! 🙂

30 Day Video Challenge

Yesterday afternoon, I was looking through my twitter feed when I saw my friend @jennipps tweet about a 30 Day Video Challenge she was participating in.

jen

I clicked in and thought, “I want to try that, too!”

I love video but, for some reason, I never think to do it first. It’s more something that I remember belatedly. With the minor except of Vine and I still don’t go to that first as would be so much fun.

I posted that I was in, thinking I would have to be a day short as it was already May 1st. And then I realized there was no reason why I couldn’t do a video yesterday even though it was a more “unplugged” version of me than what I usually do.

So my goal for the challenge is to make video be more of a first thought than one somewhere down the road.

Here’s my first video. I’d like to clarify that I’m trying to change my Trophy Wife status by getting a new job and not getting rid of my fabu husband. 🙂