On Pinterst

I think that pretty much sums it up. 


Pinterest has become my new time killer. I love the concept. I love the pretties. I love the finds and discoveries. 


My first Pinterest-come-true arrived today. I was looking through Halloween ideas that led me to this lovely etsy shop.  

I will be honest, I looked really hard at them for a while and thought I can make those myself. After taking them out of the box and upon further examination…worth every penny to just buy them.  I ordered on Friday afternoon and they arrived Monday! It's still August but I've already got them displaying in my house. I'm secretly hoping if I put out all my Fall stuff, it will feel cooler outside.   


I'm hooked...or should I say "pinned." hehe 

Shopping Addicts Anonymous

Hi my name is Megan and I'm addicted to spending money. It's bad. My obsession with blogs and the pretty things associated with them doesn't help. This is not a new addiction. I've needed all the things, well...for as long as I can remember. A new pair of wedges (don't worry about the 5 other pairs I have) I need THESE, a new bag because the other 87 I have aren't working, more Halloween decorations because the 3 plastic tubs full aren't enough. You get the idea. Now mind you I am still employed on a young professionals salary so I don't exactly have cash flowing freely for these needed purchases. But every single one is justified. 


There comes a time in a girl's life when she realizes it's time to put down the credit card (ha! let's be honest, I have the number memorized. I don't even have to pick the card up anymore!) and save for the things that really matter. This time I am referring to: Holland. I leave in 117 days for the mothercountry. And I refuse to go broke. I am determined to stop purchasing silly things and save for what really matters: souvenirs and wooden clogs! 


My head has already started swirling with coats and scarves and boots and new luggage, all the essentials I will need to take on my trip. But the truth is, I have everything I could need to take (well almost) already! So for the next 117 days I will resist buying new cell phone covers and rugs and more Fall decor and be pleased with the money that sits in my account. Cause come Christmas Eve when I get to the airport, it's so on! 

August Currents

I have become such a horrible blogger. I started writing online in 2007, two days before my birthday. I was pretty consistent with writing and I was witty, and would take lots of pictures. Now…well the ideas are still there but it just isn’t the same.
In an attempt to get back to where I was (blogging wise) I want to bring something back that I used to do at the beginning of every month. My Currents. So (24 days late) here are my currents for August. 

CURRENT BOOK
How Remarkable Women Lead – Joanna Barsh

CURRENT FAVORITE SONG
Moves Like Jagger – Maroon Five
Makes me want to dance! 

CURRENT MOVIES(S) I’D LIKE TO SEE
I Don’t Know How She Does It, The Help
Something Borrowed (on OnDemand)

CURRENT FAVORITE TV SHOW
Keeping Up with The Kardashians, Real Housewives, Flipping Out, Most Eligible Dallas

CURRENT LINK
Pinterest
Because I need something else to distract me and waste time on. 

CURRENT WISH LIST
A healthy Gran, a cheap plane ticket to Holland

CURRENT COLOR
Pink, as usual.

CURRENT LOVE
My puppies, they make me so happy

CURRENT DRINK
Grean tea or peppermint tea…although the peppermint tea doesn’t have caffeine so green tea wins.

CURRENT SHAME-INDUCING GUILTY PLEASURE
Frozen yogurt with Butterfinger and chocolate sprinkles

CURRENT CELEBRITY OBSESSION
Kim Kardashian—I love her style (for the most part) and can’t wait to see her over-the-top wedding pics

CURRENT INDULGENCE
Playing on my iPad

CURRENT TRIUMPHS
Finishing my first semester of grad school and rocking my Econ final!

CURRENT BANE OF MY EXISTENCE
The breakouts on my face
 CURRENT MOOD
Tired from finishing my first semester, but anxious to start the next.

CURRENT FAVORITE CLOTHING
Anything that keeps me cool in this Texas heat.

And done!

Well the first semester of my MBA is in the books! We finished up last week with Leadership with a fun discussion and had the opportunity to ask Dr. Christian questions--Inside the Actor's Studio style.  We turned in our personal leadership manifesto and I'm anxious to get it back next week when we start the new semester and see his critiques. We will come back to this document throughout the program so I want to make sure I have strong base to work with. 

I was  antsy the entire night. I was ready to get back my Economics final and see how I did. I had not had very strong test scores on the two earlier tests and I felt really good about this one. JoJo made us wait until after we presented out final projects to get our test scores. I rocked it! 116/120. JoJo made a point to come up to me as we were packing up to tell me he was proud of me. I'm pretty proud of me too.

I met with Amanda and Jill to exchange/pass off books for lunch yesterday. The first semester back in school was quite an adjustment and really work-intensive, so I was eager to hear what the two of them had to say about the upcoming semester. I breathed a little sigh of relief to hear them say that it will be easier the second semester.

And keeping with my "done" title. Gran finished her last round of chemo a few weeks ago! She has been a little frustrated that she is still weak and tired and not recovering as quickly, but in the grand scheme of things, I think she's doing great! She turned 74 in July and she still works full-time! She had her follow up this morning from her CT scan and the doctor said everything looked good and he'll just keep a close watch on her for now.

Oh! I got a new school bag. This is really blog worthy, I know. I started out carrying my Jon Hart tote but it was just so heavy. Then I switched to my LL Bean tote but it was hurting my shoulder with all my books in it, so now I've been carrying a $5 kid's backpack I got from Goodwill, but it is just not working at all. So I've been on the hunt or something professional, classic, functional, and preferably under $100. I finally found something I think will work from Target.

I'm kind of excited to get back to school now!

LOOK AT ME!

How does one know when they are a leader? Do you just wake up one day and say "I'm going to lead today!"? Or do you look back on a situation or time in life and say "I was a leader" in retrospect? Is it a self-proclamation, are you born to be a leader, or are you designated a leader by someone? Is it any and all of these things? Looking back on all that we’ve learned and as the concept really sinks in for me, these are just some thoughts I’ve had over the last few days.

Last week in Leadership we did an interesting activity. More interesting to me, probably, because I was the center of it. I walked through my “life journey” in front of the class and spilled it all out in respect to leadership. And when I think back on it, I have done some pretty cool things for a twenty-six year old girl. I’ve been through several life events that might bring someone to a breaking point, but I’ve chosen to look at them as a learning experience/opportunity to grow. I know this outlook comes a great deal from my upbringing, more specifically, my Gran. No matter what, she always wants to see the positive side of things and I think that has definitely rubbed off on me. I’ve also made some big steps in my career, granted they are stepping stones in the grand scheme of things, but they are setting me in the right direction.

Dr. Christian asked me in class if I share my journey often. And no, I don’t. I’m not the type to toot my own horn, unless specifically asked. I’m happy for others to sing my praises, and I had no problem sharing my life story in class once I was encouraged. I have won some pretty cool awards and honors, but unless you are tied to that specific area in my life, you would have no idea.

I love to read blog posts written by successful people. The hot topic I’ve come across lately is building your brand. I’ve tried to take some queues from such articles and be a little less modest and share my successes, but the humble girl in me says I’m self-promoting. I guess I need to work more on my advertising skills.        

This past week for my Leadership class we had to write our leadership passionograghy. I struggled with this assignment. I love to write and, let's be honest, enjoy writing about myself (I write a blog after all), but communicating what was important to me in regards to leadership was hard. I have many different passions, ones that I am deeply rooted in, but how those tie into leadership, I'm still trying to figure out. I do think that I'm living out one of my passions, which is to get the field of HR recognized within the community. This is an ongoing process—a slow one. My other passion is finding a cure for cancer. Through high school and college I was very involved in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, but since starting my professional career and moving to a new city, I have not been as involved in this arena as I’d like to be. But I’m still struggling with how to connect these two loves into leadership. I guess time will tell as I further my involvement within the community and with all this leadership incite, I’m sure I’ll figure it all out!    

I’m writing a paper this week comparing my leadership journey to Elle Woods.

No really, I am. And it actually sounds professional.

Choose hope

Seek out the hopeful, the willful, and the courageous. They already know the truth, but need your leadership to act upon it. - Andrew Razeghi from Business Leadership

Jersey's not lookin' so bad after all

My lust affair with all things New Jersey is not, embarrassingly, something I hide. I am obsessed with RHONJ, Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious, and of course the proximity to NYC. Now add to the appeal from this Forbes article Jersey tops the list of paid HR professionals!

Human resources managers are the only ones on the list where most, not just some, earn six figures. These professionals, who are responsible for everything from interviewing candidates to handling personnel and implementing strategies and policies, earn a stellar average annual salary of $108,600. According to the BLS’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates Data for 2010, the top 10% of H.R. managers earn more than $166,400 a year.  The best-paying state for these professionals is New Jersey, where they pull in an average annual salary of $134,170.

Although a median home value of $900K makes that salary look low-end.

But with the expected high today of 106 in Austin and only 81 in Jersey, it's very tempting. 

I'm making my spray tan and acrylic nails appointment now.

My weekend that wasn't

I had strategically picked last weekend to go down the Port Aransas for a long weekend/mini vacay. I took off work Friday and Monday for some extra time to soak in the sun.

As the weekend approached Tropical Storm Don crept closer to the Texas coast. By Thursday it was slated to hit right at PA, so we called off the trip. In the end we could have gone as it turned out to be hardly anything! But that was OK I had a ton to get done for school and I could get some projects done around my house.

Friday started out good. Had lunch with the girls and spent time with my Gran and aunt. On Saturday I woke up with a cold and horrible congestion, but nothing could stop me from a shopping trip! We decided to go to Salado for the day. I did my part to stimulate the local economy. Sunday I had big plans to do laundry, grocery shopping, and clean all the things! That did not happen. For most of the day I laid on the couch watching DVR. Monday I finally got it in gear and got started on my Econ papers, but I did not get nearly as much accomplished as I'd hoped.

I'm not good at being sick (who is?) and I get frustrated with myself for not being able to do all that I want. I had hoped to get my house cleaned and get a fresh start on cluttering it up again. So here I am back at work, with a to do list a mile long, still sneezing.   

Rambling MBA update

I need to update on last week's class and my weekend that wasn't.

I went into class last week knowing that I did horrible on my Econ test. I really didn't want to go to class, but I put on my big girl panties and faced the music. I had emailed my professor right after the test knowing that it was awful and asked what other options I had. I survived and am moving forward. Hopefully with some extra credit!

I am feeling a little overwhelmed this week. It seems like every week is a build up to Thursday, Friday and Saturdays are usually the slide down, and then Sunday starts all over again as the build up to another week. We have three weeks left of this semester (OMG in THREE WEEKS I'll be done with my first semester of grad school!) and so everything is coming to a head in Econ. A research paper due this week, two problem sets, and preparing for a third test next week and a final presentation. At the same time Leadership is not a breeze. While the subject area is not as intense, the work load is just as much or more. And while we were told from the beginning the expectations were 15-20 hours (outside of class) each week, when it's actually put into play it's...hard! Especially when trying to juggle a career, family, social obligations, and a sink full of dishes. What I'm trying to say is I have quite a to do list to get accomplished in the next two days!

Side note to add in the mix: I found out yesterday (overheard) that tuition is due by the 15th...12 days to come up with $3,300! So I checked on the status of my financial aid to find out my application isn't on file! And oh btw the deadline to apply was Monday. I seriously do NOT remember having to file a new FAFSA each year during my undergrad. Thanks for head's up about that Financial Aid Office! I do have to admit I'm a little disappointed in the communication that has been provided from Concordia. I realize it's ultimately my responsibility, but help a girl out!       

There are very few times that I question or second guess myself about getting my MBA. Often I know I am doing the right thing or am shown little signs that I chose the right path.

Sitting at my desk today eating lunch, I found this article on the Forbes Woman blog about women getting an MBA. I'm headed in the right direction!

The New MBAs Who Are Changing The Definition Of Leadership