Life

Wife 22

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Wife 22

Melanie Gideon’s “Wife22”  will make you smile, make you laugh and even make you think about your own marriage differently.  Alice Buckle has been married 20 years and feels like she has lost who she is and the romance she once shared with her husband, William, has vanished.  Alice is asked to participate in a marriage survey anonymously as “Wife 22”.  Her caseworker is “Researcher 101”.  It all starts innocently enough with standard questions that Alice answers.  But then the questions get more personal.  Alice remembers how thrilling, exciting and sexy the memories of first meeting William and their early dating years were.  She suddenly feels lonely and unloved and Research 101’s flirting hits the right nerve.  Alice begins to flirt back realizing that all the anonymous confessions have brought back the thrill of an early relationship.  This anonymous, secret romance leads to an interesting, unexpected conclusion.  “Wife 22”  is written with modern touches of Facebook and Twitter posts.  Gideon writes with the contemporary world in mind and realistically tells the tale of what any couple married 20 years might feel.  “Wife 22”  is a must read for anyone who thinks their marriage, and life, might be a bit stale.   So read on to see how Gideon solves the marriage doldrums.

Gratitude

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Today was my last day of vacation.  We take an annual trip the week leading up to Labor Day to Sunriver, OR or otherwise known as the high desert.  I always know that the week will be filled with biking, tennis, swimming, eating and good times with friends.  Since the elevation is 4200 feet I usually find myself reluctant to run.  This year, though, I managed to run three times!  The first time was the first day I arrived.  My friend Amy asked me to go with her.  I figured I wouldn’t get lost on the myriad of paths if I went with someone.  I huffed and puffed and pushed myself to run 30 minutes.  Then on Saturday, equipped with my daughter’s iPod, I ran 40 minutes.  I never run with music so it was great to have the extra motivation.  Then today, as soon as I woke up, I decided to run while my husband packed up the car.  Again armed with the iPod, I set my goal at 45 minutes and managed to run 50.  I actually felt strong…as if the elevation no longer bothered me.  As I was breathing in the crisp, fresh air and looking at the blue, blue sky, I reveled in my luckiness.  I managed to see 10 deer on my run, too.  And I felt such gratitude and knew I must cherish times like this…the quiet, the strength, the determination and the feeling of success.

So much success, I came home and registered for the October  21st Run Like Hell 10k.  Join me if you want.

How to Boost Employee Career Satisfaction

Posted on by Seniye Groff

An article is this month’s Talent Management caught my eye.  Probably because employee satisfaction is at the top of my mind right now since someone I recently sat down with to do some career coaching asked me, “I am 60% satisfied with my job.  Is that enough?”  First of all, being able to distill it to such an exact percentage was impressive to me.  But more importantly, was the fact that he was willing to settle…in other words being 40% dissatisfied is okay.  But is it really?  And how much can we change or put up with depending on what is truly important to us?  Granted, humans are adaptable creatures, but the ever elusive “happiness” can really make or break the experience, as well as, what we are willing to do to get it.

Taylor’s article states that “employees want to be informed about goals and expectations and how their roles fit within them.”  Obviously if employees feel like they know what they are “shooting for” and feel that the work they are required to get there uses their skills and abilities and is truly interesting to them, you bet they will help leadership get to the end goal!  Taylor suggests there are nine ways companies can boost career satisfaction:

  • “Place people in the right roles according to strengths, skills and interests.
  • Tap into talent in the cloud.
  • Use a pool of pre-screened, reliable talent.
  • Create an employee loan initiative.
  • Cross-skill people so they can use different skills on demand.
  • Create a dedicated pool of flexible, just-in-time talent.
  • Create a demand-driven talent marketplace.
  • Restructure work in terms of smaller, discrete, skill-based projects.
  • Define jobs more broadly.”

Read the full article to get more detail on the bullet points and then drop me a line and tell me what you think.  I am pretty sure you will agree, if companies tried some of these strategies, 40% dissatisfaction wouldn’t even be in the picture!

Purely Portland

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Today we did the Providence Bridge Pedal.  Although we have biked it before, this was the first time with both kids.  There was the 6, 8 or 10 bridge option.  I opted for sure-thing (given the kids) and went with the six bridge option.  It is amazing that a city  of Portland’s size can figure out how to move thousands of people over its 10 beautiful bridges!

We biked to the start of the race from our home, as well as, back at the end so we guessed we did about 15-16 miles.  With the kids, 16 miles is awesome!  And the kids even agreed that it was a beautiful way to begin a Sunday morning.  We did see one bicycle accident but in pure Portland style, people stopped and helped.  At another spot, caution tape came loose and started to tangle in people’s bikes and once again, people got off their bikes to help out.  I know we have serious bicyclists in this city, but it is nice to see people willing to interrupt their ride to help others.  In other words…purely Portland!

Summer Spirit

Posted on by Seniye Groff

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Life as a working mom is busy.  So when my mother-in-law offered to take the girls for the week, I was part disbelief and part “how can I maximize my time without the kids?”  We dropped of the kids Sunday night and proceeded to go out for sushi.  On Monday, my husband and I both went to work but I was amazed at how quickly I got ready.  So quickly, in fact, that I was able to stop somewhere for coffee before arriving at work (early, at that!).

On Tuesday we both worked again but decided to take Wednesday and Thursday off.  Well, on Monday evening I had ten women over for wine and cheese.  On Tuesday, when my husband arrived home I asked, “Where are you taking me to dinner?”  We meandered through the Pearl and finally ate at a shocking 8 p.m.!  We casually strolled the city streets with no where in mind and no schedule to watch.  It was quite freeing!

On Wednesday, we woke up and went for a run, quickly showered and went to breakfast at Compote (http://compotepdx.com/).  The poached egg stack was delicious.  I noticed these articoke flowers (pictured above) as we left the restaurant.  They were simply amazing and the bees were happily diving into their centers looking for nectar.  We then went to the garden store to pick up a few plants for our new backyard.  We ate lunch and decided to ride bikes down the Esplanade.  We are off to a friend’s Happy Hour later this evening.  All in all, a fun and productive “vacation” day enjoying my husband’s company!

Moms’ Night

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I live on a very active and involved block in our neighborhood.  There are 29 kids on the block ranging from 18 months to 13 years old.  There is a lot of free-spirited, spontaneous play.  The moms get together regularly and so I decided to host last night’s affair.  It was a perfect evening to enjoy our new backyard.  I had a wine and cheese theme, so I asked everyone to bring a wine and cheese pairing that they liked.  All the cheeses were good but there was a lavender gouda that was exceptional; especially since those are not typical combined flavors.  I also made a lemon tart and another neighbor brought brownies and a quinoa salad.  There was lots of chatter and laughter.  It was the perfect way to spend a summer evening!

Dress for Success Volunteer Appreciation

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Tuesday night Dress for Success held their volunteer appreciation event.  This is an organization I have volunteered at for 14 years.  The difference this group makes to women’s lives in outstanding (and sometimes truly unbelievable).  I have heard and witnessed countless lives changed by what we do as a united group.  Unfortunately I missed the event because of a lovely migraine but Dress for Success is one of my top priorities for where I spend my energy and time.  Consider volunteering or making a donation today!

 https://www.facebook.com/DFSOregon

http://www.dressforsuccessoregon.org/1/post/2012/06/volunteer-appreciation.html

Two Recent Books Reviews-“The Vertical Garden” & “Mediterranean Landscape Design”

Posted on by Seniye Groff

The Vertical Garden

The Vertical Garden by author, artist and botanist Patrick Blanc is a book beyond your typical garden book.  The book opens with nine chapters devoted to natural habitats such as waterfalls, cliffs and epiphytes, just to name a few.  Blanc has traveled the world and has captured some stunning photos of plants and their habitats.  The book then moves to the impact of plants on architecture.  Again, Blanc has countless photos detailing superficial, hazardous and destructive impacts.   For many of the pictures, you must look at them several times in order to believe it is real.  Blanc’s passion is obvious.  He invented the concept of the vertical garden in 1991 and believed he could make a building transparent or invisible with plants.  He offers step-by-step photographs detailing the incredible process.  The book then closes with almost 100 pages of photographs and details of many of his works.  This book is a testament to Blanc’s vision, dreams and artistry in a life-altering way.  You will be mesmerized from beginning to end with the intricate plans and the attention to detail that is not often seen.

Mediterranean Landscape Design

265 tantalizing, breathless photographs grace the pages of Mediterranean Landscape Design by Louisa Jones with photographs by Clive Nichols.  Jones asks “What is the role of human beings in nature?”  This book reviews mountains, stonework, earthwork, woodwork, clipped greenery, meadows and field geometry with that vision in mind.  She explores the inspiration of age-old materials, skills and sites to give the reader lots of ideas.  The garden tapestries chapter was especially beautiful and the seascapes and gardens of Venice romance the reader with the pictures and the words.  Mediterranean Landscape Design places the reader in the middle of the Mediterranean landscapes of Greece, Spain, France, Morocco and Italy.  After you have viewed this book, you will almost feel like you have just returned from a stunning, relaxing Mediterranean vacation.