One made me laugh, one made me cry…

Posted by random olio

I only partially watched the Oscars. I was at a neighbors for the night and found that interacting, talking, and eating was much more fun than watching the Oscars. I was a bit bored by Seth MacFarlane too. Later in the evening, we found out the recording my neighbor had set up ended before the Oscars were over, so we actually missed the last three awards (and the ones I was actually curious to watch). So when I found out later that Jennifer Lawrence tripped on the stairs I wanted to learn more about it, see her dress, and of course find out what happened. What poise, charisma, and sassiness Jennifer brings to this world. She took a not fun situation, made the best of it, and even made it funny. That will do more for her brand then walking up the stairs in that big ass dress! If you have not seen it yet, watch her authentic and real response to reporters.

Now are you ready to cry? Not tears of sadness, tears streaming down your face because you cannot stop laughing. A friend shared this on Facebook. I watched it once and laughed so hard I cried. I had Chris watch it and I laughed again even harder. Sometimes we just need to see the wonder that comes so natural to folks when shit happens. You know, because sometimes shit just happens.

Has Pinterest started a cultural shift?

Posted by random olio

Some of my friends have become Martha Stewart moms. On Facebook I see photos of the amazing Valentine’s Day cards they have made for their children to take to school. They are clever and creative cards. They completely blow away the cards we pulled out of a box, sorted through, selected our favorite for the friends we liked the most, signed our name, folded, and shared. With the addition of Pinterest to the social media scene, I see moms outdoing themselves from the plethora of ideas and possibilities in front of them to create fun ideas.

Blast back to the past (yes to the 80’s) when the triangle on your butt was the most important thing. Were you wearing name brand jeans? Were they Guess or a knock off brand? Many times your place at school and in a clique of friends had to do with what you wore or had. Sad, yes, but true.

my Pinterest boards…

Has there been a cultural shift? Is Pinterest part of that shift?

Yes. By giving moms (and no I am not leaving you out dads, I just see more of these photos from my girl-friends), easy access to ideas that they can “pin” to a bulletin board and pull out during holidays, school events, etc. With direct access to how to execute on a project, we have born an organic DIY revolution of moms to become very creative and industrious. It has brought back my youth, and it is the new thing. I can remember many times when my mom made my clothes and I was embarrassed by it (there was no brand label). Many of the gifts from my childhood were homemade, and I hated it. If only I could go back to that time and appreciate those special moments more.

So, thank you, Pinterest for the cultural shift you have brought to homes. You’ve empowered moms to be creative, try new things, and hopefully in the process they have included their kids in the make-your-own Valentine Pinterest style.

Random Olio Snippets: 1

Posted by random olio

I am trying something new. Once a week (on no specific day of the week) I want to share snippets of a few “random olios” or ideas from my week. Often I have random thoughts I want to share, but they are short and so in 2013 I have decided to share small snippets together in one post each week. We’ll see!

More books for me! – Thank you to a work colleague, I just found out that I can check out books from libraries in another county. She made my day. Call me a dork, but it gives me the ability to find books that never make it to my county library locations. For those of you in the Portland area, there is the Metropolitan Interlibrary Exchange (MIX) and they have a reciprocal borrowing agreement with libraries in neighboring counties (I can explain more if anyone has questions). If you are not in Portland, maybe you have a similar consortium in your town or local area.

Facebook Graph Search – Not sure what I think about this yet. It is a beta version, and I have not signed up for this feature. 2012 was the year that I put myself out there in the online community, and this online world is starting to feel limitless. In some ways, as online search capabilities grow, so does the potential of someone’s community to grow. Yet, I wonder if there is point where it all goes to far? There is connection and community, and there is TMI. Too much information exposed to the whole world. I have at times wanted to find something on my own page on Facebook and not been able to find it, but separate from that, what do we really need to search and know more about our Facebook friends? I would love to hear different opinions on this topic!

Social Security – Starting February 15, $61 billion in Social Security benefits are due, but the federal government might only be able to cover 60% of that. Yikes. Yet, CNN Money was the only place I found that was talking about this massive oversight? Why are other news outlets not talking about this? This should be front and center. It would be important to me if I was in the age range to collect benefits. This does continue to remind me that while I am paying into Social Security, I should not expect it to be there for me when I retire. Food for thought.

IRAs – we can now contribute $5500 a year (up $500 from 2012), $6500 for those over 50 years old, into IRAs for 2013.

All random I know, but hey, that is why this blog is called Random Olio – you never know what will inspire, bring me to tears, or piss me off!

Brand “YOU”

Posted by random olio

A recent article from Fast Company inspired me to think through my brand: Brand Tami. Not just for 2013, but beyond. The following excerpt from the article is what specifically stood out to me and will give you a bit of context to what I am referring to:

“Be yourself and be courageous. You don’t have to follow the crowd. Take courageous steps to define the brand of you in 2013, reminding yourself of who you are, what makes you tick, and why you get out of bed every day. Don’t feel compelled to follow the crowd. Be courageous and proud of being yourself.”

Have you ever thought about that? Brand You? Reid Huffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has a great book out called: “The Start-Up of You.” He discusses at length how to plan out your future as though YOU, your life, job, and future were a start-up company. It is definitely a book I would recommend reading if you are thinking about your future and next steps.

Over the holidays I was thinking about Brand Tami and decided the first place to start was to update my: “About” page for random olio. That was my first step. If you have read it before, you will see a bit of my past version, with more specifics this time. Since I have this blog, I can cultivate my Brand on my About page, but also through my writing, photos, and content. I also continue to share my Brand in how I interact and treat others, and what I stand for, and what I will not stand for. I want to continue to think about how I am going to cultivate Brand Tami as the months fly by in 2013 and beyond.

You might find that you create a bit of Brand YOU by what you post on Facebook, or what you share on Twitter. What does your Brand YOU look like? Does it have a smell? Texture? Does it glow? Is there a word that defines you that you can speak to that sheds light to others of what you are about? An image? The fun part about Brand YOU is that it is a constantly evolving Brand and you get to update it, edit it, and brush it off any time you wish.

Tell it like it is…

Posted by random olio

I often think I do not do the best job of telling people in my life how important they are to me. We just had probably one of the most normal holidays of all holidays, Thanksgiving. While you might have stuffed your face with cornbread stuffing and other Turkey Day favorites, what did you do to tell someone else how important they are to you?

I did to one person, but I can sometimes be shy to tell others. I am never hold back to tell Chris what I am thinking, and Thanksgiving Day is no different. I adore him, and am ever so grateful that he is in my life. Yet, why is it that sometimes I let time go by without telling other family members and certain friends how I feel?

I recently read a few posts from someone I used to work with and am connected to on Facebook who had a childhood friend pass on from cancer. She did not know her friend had cancer. She was shocked and upset. You could read the pain through her posts. It got me thinking. How often do we tell those in our life, no matter how close they are to us, how important they are to us? If you have not recently, what is holding you back?

I am going to try to reach out to friends and family in the coming weeks and tell them how I feel and that they are important to me. Holidays can be full of fun and happiness for some, and challenging and depressing for others. December is a great month to reach out and connect with others. You never know what another individual might need until you reach out and express your appreciation and love to them. Here I go, will you join me?!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, enjoyed time with friends and family, and are ready to get back to work. A happy week to you!