“The Law of Two-Thirds”

Posted by random olio

I love to share a good thing. Whether that is my new favorite restaurant, or a referral for a hair stylist. It does not matter. Sharing a good thing feels good. So thank you, John, for sharing this great blog, and the idea of the two-thirds rule with me.

The full blog post is from “Start from Why.” The blog post explains that out of these three, we can only have two:

Quality
Speed
Price

He explains that if we want fast food, we are not after quality, but we want it quick and cheap. If we are buying a new luxury car, we want quality and price, but want it done well, so we do not care as much about speed, and are willing to wait. What areas of your professional and personal life follow The Law of Two-Thirds? Are there projects you are working on that you know you will have to sacrifice quality because you are asked to do it quickly and cheaply? Or do you have projects where quality matters, and so you sacrifice speed?

It makes me think about the many times where it is hard for me to sacrifice quality. When my name is attached to anything I am working on, I want quality to come first. We do not always have that choice. Many times money is the driving force to how we have to approach what we do. Yet, so is speed. In this world of now, now, fast, now, speed tends to be the focus. So does that mean that many of the times what is lost is quality?

I hope not. I hope that quality eventually becomes the most important aspect of The Law of Two-Thirds. What do you think?

West Wing Is Back For 4:04 Minutes

Posted by random olio

I was a die-hard fan of West Wing. I still get nostalgic of the show. I mentioned a bit about West Wing in this recent blog post. Last week I came across this video on getting out and voting. The video was created as a campaign ad for Bridget Mary McCormack. Bridget McCormack and Mary McCormack (who played Kate Harper on West Wing) are sisters.

It is a great bipartisan video, encourages individuals to vote, and has a positive take (instead of the many snarky political ads we keep seeing). The added bonus is to see the West Wing cast back in action. Although I could not help but think about how Leo was missing (played by John Spencer who died in 2005).

Enjoy all of you West Wing fans!

Separate Finances? Shared Finances?

Posted by random olio

I was inspired by this article: “Separate Money Sane Marriage,” and it leads me to ask a question for those of you that might read this blog post. Separate finances vs. Shared finances? What are the pros and cons? I have resisted from doing a google search for everything the experts say. Partly because I think that the experts will be on both sides, and honestly I think that it is different for each couple or partnership. What works for one might not work for another.

I lean on the side of shared finances. I say that because it has worked for us. Maybe it is because of our communication style to talk about everything, including our finances. Maybe it is because when we got married we were broke, in debt, and we worked together to get out of debt, pay off credit cards, and student loans. It evolved into the idea for every facet of our lives: “What is yours is mine, what is mine is yours.” There are ebbs and flows when things we decide for Chris are more expensive or vice versa. That is part of marriage, part of life.

I can respect those that keep their finances separate, but I want to understand more about why. I know for some they might get married when they are older, and just prefer to continue to live their financial life as they have throughout the years. Why do others make that choice? What are the pros and cons?

I am curious to hear what you think! Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Sophia Grace and Rosie’s Comment on Ellen

Posted by random olio

Have you heard of Sophia Grace and Rosie? The eight- and six-year-old British music fans and mini singers frequented “The Ellen Degeneres Show” quite often last season. I loved watching them. They were always so excited, happy, and thrilled to chat and sing. They are also Nicki Minaj fanatics. Ellen has had them interview musicians on multiple award shows, and both girls know all the stars, as well as their songs. And, yes the always are dressed in tutu’s.

While catching up on personal emails, online reading, and Great Dane web cam watching over the weekend, I also caught up on Ellen. One of the episodes in her first week of the season had Sophia Grace and Rosie on. Simon Cowell and Britney Spears had been on earlier in the show promoting “The X Factor.” When Sophia Grace and Rosie came on, Ellen asks them if they watched Simon and Britney, and Sophia Grace (dark hair) says: “I met him backstage, but I do think he needs to put his trousers down a bit.” If you fast forward the video to :40 seconds, you’ll see the specific moment (click first image to watch).

Love those two girls. Wish I had as much excitement and thrill about the world, music, and pink when I was six and eight years old.

If you want to see them sing (and their hilarious banter with Ellen) watch the first time they were on Ellen’s show:

Have a great day!

Dishes and Pooper Scooper

Posted by random olio

Did you ever try to get out of doing your chores? I did. I used to hate to wash dishes. My sister, brother, and I used to have to wash the dishes after dinner. We alternated each night. One of us would wash, and another would dry. I hated doing both. I would do whatever I could to get out of doing the dishes. One thing I remember doing specifically, is stating that our Frankoma dishes were to heavy for me to wash and dry. It meant I had to wash the glasses, silverware, and pots & pans.

I also can remember having to clean up after our dogs. The worst part was what we called “pooper scooper.” We had this yellow plastic trowel with these slots in it. We took turns walking around the yard cleaning up after the dog. It was never fun. We had a big backyard, and somehow we would wait for ages to clean the yard, which meant it took forever to finish the job. Looking back I do not know how we ever got away with waiting so long to clean up after the dog. It would have been easier to do it more often, but we did not think like that back then!

The little things we do to get out of doing work. I do actually remember that those Frankoma dishes were heavy, the plates especially, but I wonder if my parents knew I was trying to get out of washing them. These days cleaning is actually therapeutic to me. Although I do not get overly excited to clean, I like the feeling of calm I have after the house is clean, the laundry is done, and the sheets are freshly put on the bed. Bliss. Why is it that having everything in my house in order means that I feel clear and ready to tackle the week ahead?