Tis The Season To Be THANKFUL!

THIS POST WAS SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FROM A FEW WEEKS BACK.  I MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT...STILL, IT IS APPLICABLE FOR THIS WEEK'S EVENTS!

OK, I am not afraid to say it....I hate when people jump the gun on upcoming holidays before a then-current holiday is experienced.  PET. PEEVE!

As I was making my way to the train this morning, I was inundated with the excessive Christmas advertising on the radio.  And then, when I hit up Starbucks later in the day, I realized they are already utilizing the Christmas, excuse me, "holiday" cups that just so happen to be red with subtle hints of the Christmas season: such as snowflakes, etc. 

While I do love Christmas time and everything about it, the point is that we are skipping over a very important holiday - THANKSGIVING! 

This is way too important of a day to be overlooked by marketers.  C'mon, people!  It already has such a limited window of exposure with Halloween and Black Friday (do not even get me started on that.....), let us not forget what this day actually means!

Be THANKFUL for everything in your life - your family, your health, your happiness, your successes, even your failures - for they allow you continued growth.  If nothing else, be thankful for your very existence, am I right?!

And in addition to being thankful for what you have in your life, let's go ahead and keep those who are less fortunate top of mind why don't we?  Do you plan on making 500 pounds of food this week, only to come to the realization that you have way more leftovers than would be deemed necessary to feed an army?  Maybe donate some of that good fortune?  Or maybe use your time to volunteer for an hour instead of baking that 3rd (and most likely unnecessary) pie?

Food drives are such an easy way to make sure you are contributing to a necessary and worthwhile cause.  Head over to Time Out Chicago for some great ideas on how you can get involved (if you are local).  Other national organizations like The Salvation Army and No Kid Hungry are always active and a great resource for various programs that allow you to give back as well, no matter the time of year!

WOW - I really went off on a tangent there....  Sorry!

Here's to all of us having a happy and enjoyable time this week with friends and family!  But please.... do take the opportunity to be THANKFUL before we hop right into Christmas.....

 

Friday Favorites

Wow - it has been too long.  It seems to have been a theme in the blogging world over the course of the past few weeks, however, as many of the blogs I follow have been slacking on posts as well!  In an attempt to ease back into it, I give you Friday Favorites!

• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 - Yes, within the past month I have somehow become a....FAN?!  To be fair, it happened by accident.  My husband was traveling one weekend, and I sat down on the couch to find there was NOTHING on TV.  Well, except for New Moon.  I realized later that this was the 2nd installment, so I felt I needed to see the 1st one to really "get it" - this was, of course, not really necessary.  In any case, fast forward a few weeks and I have now been caught up to speed on all 4 of the films to date; however, unless you are living under a rock, you are aware that the 5th and final film released this week.  Naturally, I am now curious as to what all of the hype is about - Bella is a vampire now, guys!  I admit, I am slightly embarrassed that I would like to go see it....

• Kentucky Derby 2013 - YES, YES, YES, YES!  And one more YES! for good measure...  On Monday, when we all should have been honoring the many Veterans of our great nation, a select group of us took a break at noon to participate in the private sale of Kentucky Oaks/Derby 2-day ticket packages.  And?  NAILED IT!  2013 is already off to a fantastic start!

• Birthdays Galore! - November is a BUSY month for birthday celebrations.  I am going to take this opportunity to get caught up on all of those I missed, and those left to come, this month:

• November 2nd - Happy Birthday, Jinna!
• November 4th or 5th (I know, I cannot remember the exact day, Oops!) - Happy Birthday, Austin!
• November 8th - Happy Birthday, Elliana!
• November 9th - Happy Birthday, John!
• November 13th - Happy Birthday, Grandma Glo!
• November 24th - Happy Birthday, Jason!

....I THINK that covers it?

• Wedding Bliss - Congratulations to Carli and Casey, who tied the knot on November 10th, 2012, in Naples, Florida!

• Slapsgiving - No, no one actually gets slapped like Barney in How I Met Your Mother.  This is, rather, an epic event that we founded around the same time the episode aired.  I guess we were all out of creative ideas at this point in the year a few years back?!  Nonetheless, 2012 marks the 3rd annual Slapsgiving festivities in Chicago!  We are currently working on putting together the menu and I am so looking forward to it.  More on this next week....

Rock The Vote

If you are like me and had way too many unavoidable work obligations to find the time to participate in the early voting, today has been on your radar for quite some time.  Requiring the stealthiest of strategies to navigate the crowds, you really do have to have your game face on to conquer the polls alone...

Lucky for me, the voting location in my district is about a block away from my residence.  Phew!  The drawback?  I got there when the polls opened at 6am to make sure I would be dressed and ready to rock n' roll for work immediately after.  As I stood there in line, outside in the cold on this fine Chicago morning, I could not help but think....

"Employers really should be doing a much better job of encouraging their employees to get out there and vote...." 

Political beliefs aside, employers should be clear that they are willing to be a bit more lenient with their employees to ensure everyone who wants the opportunity to have their voice heard is able to do so.  Quite frankly, it is a very simple task - a mindless practice even - to implement in an election year: inform your employees that if they need to come in a little later or leave a little bit early to make sure they are able to get their votes in, by all means....  Seriously, this could not be easier to do.  Unfortunately, I fear that many employers out there either do not care or simply do not choose to do so.  That, I find to be complete bullshit.  

Now let's not twist my words here, I am not saying I think everyone deserves a free day off to vote in the election per se (although, with all of the ridiculous holidays sprinkled throughout the calendar year already, I do not think 1 day every 4 years would kill us....), but I am saying this: employers should be accepting of the fact that the polls can be very time consuming, and if an employee needs an extra hour due to crazy lines and/or a missed train so they can participate in the election - that should NOT be a big deal.  And not only should it not be a big deal, it should be encouraged that this is, in fact, OK.  That the employer understands the situation PRIOR to it becoming an issue and having an employee opt out of the voting process entirely, only because they could not find the time in their work day to make it happen.

So I wonder... How many employers took the time during their Monday morning meetings yesterday to address this point?  Sure, I am confident that there are some companies out there who recognize the importance of getting out there and making sure their votes count.  Sadly, I think the majority would be categorized as the exact opposite, with this topic of discussion never being addressed at all.  Sigh....

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent...whatever.  That makes no difference...  VOTE.  Do not take for granted this inalienable right.  There are still many  people living throughout the world who continue to fight the battle in hopes of gaining the right to a free election - remember that.  Who are we to turn the other way and disregard this privilege? 

Take pride in the fact that your vote matters and, regardless of the end result, know that you were a valuable contribution to the outcome of the Presidential election.