Rudolph, lead the way to our house on Christmas Eve!

The Christmas clock is ticking. Just a few more days until Santa begins his trip from the North Pole to our house. Of course, leading the way will be Rudolph the Reindeer. Today I'm celebrating Rudolph. Sure, we'll have some cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. But, we'll also have a nice treat for Rudolph and his reindeer friends that work so hard to get Santa to all the homes before Christmas morning.

You can celebrate too by baking this very easy Rudolph the Reindeer cut up cake with the CakeShapesDesigns.com cake pattern.

O Christmas Tree Cake, how lovely!

Christmas, the most wonderful time of year! My street is bright at night with the glow of the Christmas trees and decorations. I am running behind this year on decorating for the Christmas season. I plan to decorate the tree this weekend. I plan to decorate this fun, Christmas Tree shaped cake also this weekend. A nice dessert to celebrate the lovely Christmas Tree.

Celebrating the launch of CakeShapes Designs

Today I'm celebrating the launch of CakeShapes Designs, my new little e-commerce site. From this site you can download cut-up cake patterns to easily create fun, creative shaped cakes. No more expensive, shaped cake pans that fill up the cupboard or pantry. No cake decorating experience required. No expensive cake decorating classes required. Suggestions on how to decorate the cakes using materials that you commonly find in your local supermarket are given. You'll not see fancy cakework on the site -- no fondant, no fancy cake borders, or flowers formed from icing. Hopefully you'll get an idea of how basically anyone can take an ordinary cake layer and create an amazing, fun cake that will delight your family and friends. If you have experience in cake decorating, only your imagination will be the limit. Visit the site today and share the good news.

Crossroads of Life 

I've really enjoyed blogging, particularly sharing the celebrations of life.   However,  I see the resource actions (also known as layoffs) impact my peers and see work in my industry move offshore.   Reality demands that the possibilities be considered and action plans be in place.   I decided to take a break from my blogging to consider what might be next in the crossroads of life.   

Over the years, I've had lots of ideas, some great and some not-so-great.  Some of those innovative ideas just need some time to gel.  ; )  I decided that I can continue to celebrate life and spend time reminiscing about it on my blogs.  Or, I could explore an additional passion and try to find a way to celebrate it -- with the hopes that it might grow into opportunities of the future.   My Dad and I frequently talked about the need to find something that would allow us to make money in our sleep.  As we watched so many succeed on the great information highway, it became a challenge for me.   So, I've finally followed through on a dream and have set up a little e-commerce site on the information highway.   I've learned through my experience with blogging that people don't necessary "come" or "come right away."  Like the brick and mortar business, building a business online will take time.  It must be nurtured.  Of course, I, like everyone else, want an instant success.   For now, I'll celebrate knowing that "I finally did it" --- it took months of planning, very long hours of development after my "day job."  Months of weekends, toiling away on a project that few believed in.   Those had focus on the current day -- not the dream of the future.   Only time will tell if it will be a success.  Regardless, I'm working on something that I love -- that I've done all my life -- and have found a way to simplify it for others.   Now, I'm sharing with others.  I see the possibilities and dream big.  Of course, my realistic side hopes to initially cover my expenses.  I dreaming of the financial return for the future.  For now, I feel a little better that I have taken further steps to plan for the day we all dread -- the day that the pink slip is virtually passed to my desk.   I'd be so dearly blessed if this new venture becomes my backup plan to at least  'hold me over' or at least pay for the health benefits that will be needed as I downsize.  : )   Of course, my little e-commerce site is directly related to the subject of this blog.  It enables people to celebrate.   Of course, I'll share the news and progress on this site too.

A dollar and a smack on the bottom for each year

Today I'm celebrating my birthday. I'm not particularly fond of birthdays -- and it's just not because birthdays are a reminder of my aging. However, I like to make the best of it. I rarely work on my birthday. I generally take a vacation day and plan some fun things for the day. A great day for me includes some fried shrimp and some chocolate. It usually involves some shopping too. Add a movie, and it's a best day. Start the day off at the salon and it's perfect.

Birthdays at our house were days to celebrate, but with some uneasiness. Sure, there was the cake, with candles, and friends and family. After church on the closest Sunday, we'd also get to go to town and eat out -- a special treat. Of course, I always picked the shrimp. So what in the world might make someone a little uneasy on their birthday? Was it the embarassment of opening the annual gift of "granny panties" from your Grandma in front of your friends? My family is a little Scottish -- celebrating by giving a dollar (rather than a pound note), along with a smack on the bottom for each year. I remember that last smack -- it was in Mr Sawyer's Music Theory class by Mad Rad on my 18th birthday. However, it gets worse -- the annual tradition of my Grandpa was to snatch you up and then stick your head under his house! I really hated that -- dreading that moment! After all, I had seen all kinds of critters under that house over the years.

I'm not a big fan of surprises either. Now, I like a surprise phone call from an old friend. However, I'm not a fan of being ambushed! Have you ever missed your own birthday party? I have. Once my friends decided to celebrate my birthday by hosting a surprise dinner. However, it was planned after our choir rehearsal and at the place where we typically ate each week. It was not on my specific birth date. I had to work late and did not attend the rehearsal. Rather than stopping by the restaraunt to join the gang for dinner I just drove home. Everyone assumed that I would be there. Point of advice -- if you plan on throwing a party for someone, then assign someone to make sure they're going to attend. It was really funny looking at pictures of the empty chair with the balloon tied to its back and the nice cake with lit candles and no one to blow them out. An especially memorable birthday!

I browsed around to read about birthday traditions -- curious where Grandpa might have gotten his tradition. Although I did not see its origin, I found other traditions that I also would like to avoid. If I lived in Canada, I would have my nose greased with butter or margarine. In China, I'd be eating noodles for lunch. In Denmark, there would be a flag flying outside my window. In Italy and Hungary, people would be pulling at my ears (although that sounds much better than a smack on the bottom). In Latvia, as you sit in your chair, your friends lift it one time for each year -- naw, that's not going to happen! In Puerto Rico, family and friends would be tapping me on the arm -- that can be annoying. However, in Japan, I'd be wearing new clothes -- finally, a tradition that I would enjoy!

Happy Birthday Wiki!

Today I'm celebrating the birthday of the world's first wiki. On this date in 1995, WikiWikiWeb, created by Ward Cunningham, was made public. A wiki is a user-editable website. Cunningham came up with the name when remembering a recommendation to take the Wiki Wiki Shuttle at the Honolulu International Airport. Wiki is a Hawaiian word for fast. His idea was to make the pages quickly editable by users. After initially thinking about naming it "QuickWeb" he settled on WikiWikiWeb. The software and website were developed in 1994 by Cunningham in order to make the exchange of ideas between programmers easier. Over time, the actual site has become to be known as WardsWiki.

Don't think this creation is just for geeks though. I've created many wikis on various topics. Even my Mom (a senior adult) manages her own wiki! There are thousands of wikis on the Web today. Who hasn't heard of Wikipedia? Also, WikiLeaks has certainly been in the news during the last year.

Maybe you've thought about hanging a shingle on the World Wide Web. Sure, practically everyone is on Facebook these days -- but often you need a place to publish information and files. Plus, many need a place where a group or team can share information or collaborate in developing content. A wiki may be the solution for you. Using a wiki farm (or wiki service), you can easily create web-based content. No technical expertise (e.g., no programming code, no special language) is required for many WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) wiki services. Wikis can help eliminate the e-mail threads among group members in communicating and obtaining information. With wikis, you can make real-time updates of web-based content, without waiting for the technical support team to update web server files. You can avoid transferring document attachments to a distribution list through e-mail. You can access current information real-time -- no longer referencing outdated documents or attachments that you previously received. You can build and manage communities using wikis!

Ok, you may be wondering how a wiki could be used by you. Here is just a short list of examples:

• Make a travel scrapbook
• Organize the carpool to school, rehearsals, or sports practices
• Create a website about your hobby
• Create a website for your small business
• Log your favorite recipes on a site -- and just logon from the ski cabin next winter
• Create an emergency contact site for your family members to connect during times of crisis
• Create a home inventory (using a private wiki that only your family can edit and view)
• Create a site for your book club
• Create a site for your group to write a book
• Make a site to plan your next party
• Make a site to plan the school trip
• A reunion site for your class or family
• Create the site for your child's sport team (e.g., with practice and game schedules, listing who's responsible for team snacks, to post team photos, to post game statistics)

You can learn everything about wikis from Everything Wiki -- it's a wiki about wikis! If you want to share a wiki with the world, post a comment on the Wiki'd Places blog.

Image credit: www.thecontentwrangler.com

We've come a long way, darling!

Today I'm celebrating International Women's Day. A lot of progress for women's rights has been recorded over the last century. I, myself, have seen a lot of change.

I grew up in the rural South. Maybe life was different in the South than other parts of the great USA. Life has not always been easy for the women of the South. I know women of my lifetime who did not have the opportunity to learn to drive... that is, with the exception of a plow or a tractor. I recall when all the women set the table for the men and the children's table, eating only after all others had finished. I'm a proud voter, but I can remember when my Dad gently notified me how the "family" would be voting. When I inquired, I learned that there was a family meeting prior to the election to discuss the issues and the candidates. It was decided then where to place the block of family votes. Of course, my Dad (anticipating my disappointment on my first voting year in this process) also told me that his suggestions were only recommendations based on what he had learned from the candidate speeches at the political rallies and hearing the opinions of his family members. Plus, he suggested that we as a group would have more influence than individually. Interesting, I had attended those same political rallies -- our high school band would often play at them. Funny, I don't remember being invited to that family meeting. It was definitely a guy thing.

Although by the time I completed my masters degree in computer science, many women had already led the way to establish opportunities for women. However, there still were not many women working in the technology field. That was somewhat nice because demand was high and I had 14 job offers when completing my graduate work. However, there were unexpected challenges along the way. During one campus interview, a manager explained how they never had hired a woman in their company to perform the computer programming work. He explained how the guys were guys He explained that he was not opposed to hiring a woman, but he did not want to hire a b----- and then asked if I was one. On one site interview for another company, I was excited to hear the job opportunities-- after all, my major professor had once worked for that company, but in Houston. I was surprised to learn after arriving in Austin that I really only had a single, brief, introductory interview. The hiring manager reported to me that he had decided not to hire a woman -- he assumed that I would take the job, get married, get pregnant and then not be available to report to work when needed, which often was around 4am when their programs would run and break. My major professor and department chair were extremely upset by that situation and called the company to complain. The company insisted that I return for additional interviews -- however, I already knew that I would not work for that company.

You expect that there will be a few bad apples in every bunch. I picked a great company that has led by example in many areas. However, it was surprising what also occurred in such a large, great company. I really enjoyed working for one manager and his team. They were real go-getters and work was often a lot more fun than work. However, I was disappointed to learn from a female peer (as she was crying in her beer one happy hour) that she thought that she really did deserve the promotion -- and she did not get the promotion just because she was sleeping with our manager while away on business trips. I was shocked that such behavior would occur in our workplace. I was upset about that situation -- and although I felt like tossing a cupcake in her face, I'm glad that women are no longer stoned for committing adultery. Later, I joined another team that was quite different. I was the first woman hired in that department but was shortly joined by another. We were both disappointed to learn that after our years of experience, our only assigned tasks from the team leader involved entering their timecard data and completing data entry for their personal reports for the department. It took awhile to get meaningful work. Shortly afterward, I learned that some of those good ol' guys really could not pull their weight -- technically speaking. I often was assigned their projects when they failed. It was frustrating being called in to clean up their mess and get a project completed successfully for staff who earned significantly more than me. It was then even more frustrating to hear my manager say that I would not be given a raise -- specifically because the guys in the department were married, had kids, and needed the money more than me. Because I was still single and a woman, he decided to give all the raises to the men in the department. I could not believe my ears. During my time working for that manager, the dress codes were relaxed and women were no longer required to wear dress suites (e.g., skirts and business jackets). However, we quickly learned that our manager had 9 criteria that the women's attire had to meet in order to be acceptable for our work location. Some of the requirements were ridiculous and almost impossible to meet. I decided that it was best handled by asking the manager to walk through his department and demonstrate to us (by the men's attire) the specifics of the requirements. Of course, it was obvious that none of the men met the rules that he had personally constructed for his two female staff. Basically their pants (excuse me, slacks) had two legs, were full-length, and not denim. It was not long before the 9 criteria were relaxed somewhat.

I've worked with and for a lot of amazing people. However, I have been sometimes amazed and embarassed by the behavior of a few women in the workplace. I've had my intellectual property basically stolen by some women peers -- and not just one. I would attend meetings and be surprised to see my presentation delivered -- but I'd chuckle to myself hearing the ladies struggle to find the explanations for the data reported. I also actually had one female team member claim my entire project when a new manager was assigned to our department. The peer had only been with the team shortly and I had assigned to her a significant task over six weeks. I spent a lot of time helping to introduce her to our team and my project. The new manager was located at the same site as my peer. It was days before I met the new manager -- but by then, I was no longer working on that project and, according to the manager, had never led that project, based on information from my peer, even though I had led it for over 8 months, leading numerous subteams. It took weeks to get on my manager's calendar about the project. It even took months longer to sort out the mess with the project managers of my subteams, who were totally confused. I think that it is hilarious that the peer, years later after moving to a new position, contacted me on LinkedIn and even asked me to write a recommendation. I ignored the request -- I am sure that she would not be happy with my recommendation to others to avoid (like the plague) working with her. I guess people like that are very insecure in their abilities and feel that they must steal the work of others to help validate themselves. I also had a female manager who once insisted that reverse my position on some research results -- to support another outcome that she supported. I was strongly encouraged not to report my findings. I was actually told that I must go to a meeting with another colleague (who had already told me that he was willing to support whatever opinion was requested by the manager) and could not come out of it until I had completed the recommendation -- and the recommendation must agree with my colleague's. I respectfully reported to her that I could not falsify my research results to support her hypothesis. I tell you that I truly paid for that stand that I took. I also worked on a project with stellar results -- and the manager of the department I supported gave me an informal award for the work performed. However, shortly afterwards, that same female manager reported to my manager that she was not happy with my performance -- and was even considering asking that I be removed from the project. I was shocked. However, I soon learned that a layoff was occurring -- and I suspect that she was positioning her staff member for my position. I never told that manager that my manager had reported to me her feedback -- I respectfully continued work with her, concentrating on my job and continuing to be an outstanding performer on the project. Those were dark days among a long career. Most of those darks days were at the hand of women, not men. Those women should have been mentors --- they were leaders in the field, but demonstrated bad behavior (trying to get ahead) that no one should emulate.

Work is not so different from the outside world either. I can remember asking to talk with a supervisor at a well-known automotive center after the technician noted that he had fixed the problem identified with my car -- but fixed it on another's car by mistake. After he quickly changed his story, I insisted that the problem be corrected -- and then the supervisor noted that he did not think that I was an ordinary dumb blonde. I recall a lender telling me that it would be very difficult to purchase a house -- I found another lender who offered me an application and I easily met the requirements. Often service personnel will ask that I call my spouse about the details of repairs needed at the house. Once after a hail storm in our area, several homeowners teamed to get a good group discount on a roof replacement. One roofing contractor on the list would not talk with me -- ignoring my questions, assuming that my husband would eventually come across the street to talk with him. Eventually, when I got his attention, I explained that I am the home owner and that I would not be interested in his proposal -- I would only review the those submitted by the other contractors. I also often experienced difficulty getting assistance in the computer department of a large, popular electronics company. Their personnel would practically walk around me, ignoring me -- or tell me to wait a moment -- as they assisted every male that walked into the general area. A male friend of mine once saw me in the store and chatted with me while waiting one day. A sales associate soon walked up and asked how he could assist him -- my friend quickly noted that I had waited for 20 minutes and he could start by helping me. I have noticed many improvements there -- apparently it was well-known by the company executives that they were not meeting the needs of female consumers (and we spend money on electronics too). I guess things are getting better, but I still take a male friend with me when car shopping.

I see the progress, but I'm afraid that we've gone backwards also. I sense a loss of chivalry and general politeness -- some men claim that it is due to the women's revolution. After al, some say that you can't have it both ways. I always thank a guy when he opens and holds the door for me -- that happens less frequently these days. I was once on a rental bus at an airport in Chicago -- and watched a busload of men sit after a pregnant lady with a toddler boarded the bus. I waited patiently for someone -- anyone -- to stand to allow that lady to sit. I was the only other woman on the bus. In my "steel magnolia" way, I stood to my feet -- and exclaimed to the captive crowd of men how I could not believe their behavior -- how could they sit as a pregnat woman with a toddler struggled to hang on as the bus moved through the airport to the rental cars? I gladly gave up my seat for her. They did not blink an eye -- no one jumped to his feet to correct the situation. No one apologized. I don't know if it was general male insensitivity due to the women's revolution -- or if I just expected too much of the Yankee males, having lived my entire life in the South. I was especially proud one day later on another rental bus by that same company to have a driver insist on carrying my luggage off the bus to my car -- I told him that it was not necessary. However, he then explained how his daughters and wife traveled frequently on business -- and he knew (from observing the general behavior of men on his bus) that they were not likely well treated when traveling. He wanted to extend the courtesies to all women on his bus that he could only hope would be extended to his loved ones when traveling --- and the guys on the bus could just wait! Wow, there's still hope for humanity today.

Well, despite these sad stories, there is much to celebrate. I've been blessed and appreciate it. Improvements are definitely needed in many areas -- and I will be delighted to continue to see the progress -- and the hope of improved quality of life for women worldwide.