Lately office politics have been the source of major issues on my friend’s project. During a long venting session over coffee, we came up with a few guidelines for dealing with  office politics.

1. Assume that nothing is personal
2. Don’t make anything personal
3. Try to communicate openly and honestly
4. Focus on your work and providing your best effort
5. Don’t be an alarmist; try to be rational and assertive when raising or responding to issues
6. If you are feeling insecure about anything ask for advice
7. Vent to people removed from the situation to get some perspective
8. If something or someone makes you frustrated take some time to breathe before responding
9. Try to be patient and compassionate, you never know what other people are dealing with outside of the office
10. Don’t be territorial with your project team- it’s a job not Survivor

Referring to these guidelines should keep you from adding fuel to any fire. If you can keep your cool and avoid getting emotional, you can walk away from most political situations unscathed.

I have a cat and every spring he sheds so much I can hardly stand it. I vacuum constantly, but I feel like I have a hard time getting all the fur off of the couch.  I’ve finally found a solution to this problem.

I was at Target walking through the cleaning products aisle complaining about the shedding issue and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this Evercare 10″ large surface lint roller. It is amazing. It picks up every last bit of fur. If you have pets that shed you must invest in this product.

I have found that the best way to increase your potential for holding an effective meeting is to put forth a little bit of effort upfront.

I consider it bad form and a waste of time to do any set up with participants in the room. It is wise to create a checklist and handle as many tasks as possible prior to a meeting’s start time.

Here is a basic checklist that I developed for my coordinator to use while setting up training sessions for my current project.

One to three weeks prior:

• Confirm dates with the facilitator
• Confirm the list of attendees
• Book conference room
• If you haven’t been to the conference room before, go by and visit. See what equipment is available or what you will need to provide
• Set up web conferencing (if necessary)
• Set up conference call information (if necessary)
• Send out the meeting invitation with the agenda, any pre-read documents, and access information for remote attendees
• Reserve a projector if one is not provided in the room
• Make a list of necessary supplies (i.e. flipcharts, markers, name tents, name badges, extension cords, etc.)
• Manage the attendee list and notify facilitators of who will attendee and who declined the invitation
• Assign a scribe/moderator
• Order catering/snacks (if budgeted and approved)

The afternoon before or morning of the meeting:

• Set up the room into desired configuration
• Print out all handouts
• Set out supplies
• Test/set up the web conference
• Call to confirm catering
• Set up area for handouts and catering

If there is one thing I have learned over the last few years with my current company it is that you shouldn’t forgo planning because it will cost you in the end.

I’ve been feeling like my bedroom is a bit too minimal for my taste, so I hit up some thrift stores a few weeks ago to find some accessories. On a very small budget I was able to find some attractive silver pieces to dress things up. I even gave some of the items a new purpose.

I’m using the teacup as a cell phone holder since I use my cell phone as my alarm most of the time. The dish I bought is now a valet for my keys and work ID, and that little silver bowl is where I toss my jewelry before I fall asleep.

I’m very happy with the results and with how inexpensive it was to put this all together. I spent $11.00 on all the items pictured above, and all it took was a little bit of rummaging through the aisles of my local thrift stores.

The book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch is one of my favorite weight management tools. It has helped me shed over 20 pounds in the past year and maintain the weight loss.

I’m starting my new 90 Day Health Challenge today so I took another look at the book and reviewed the principles of this program.

The Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating:

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace With Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Feel Your Fullness
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
7. Cope with Emotions Without Using Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise - Feel the Difference
10. Honor Your Health

The three principles that resonant with me are: a) rejecting the diet mentality, b) challenging the food police and c) feeling your fullness.

I encourage anyone who has struggled with weight management to read this book. It is a quick read and will change your perspective on dieting. To learn more check out www.intuitiveeating.com.

I’ve been sick for the past five weeks with the flu followed by bronchitis then a pesky case of strep throat. I finely started feeling like my old self today.

I was doing well with my 90 Day Health Challenge before becoming impaired by what I will call ‘Sickfest 2008′. I became a recluse who slept as often as I could. I had no energy to workout and no desire to meet any of the other objectives of the challenge.

I have decided that since I have been under the weather for almost half of the challenge period I’m going to start fresh on May 1st with the challenge.

Here are the 90 Day Health Challenge objectives:

1. Exercise 4-5 times a week for an hour including cardio and strength training
2. Eat 1500 calories a day
3. Follow the principles of Intuitive Eating
4. Keep a food and exercise journal
5. Do some form of relaxation exercise 2-3 times a week
6. Be accepting of the fact that there may be days I will get off track
7. Get back on track immediately if there is a glitch

I’m determined to stay healthy and see this through.

My friends and I were sharing baking and cooking tips over the weekend so I thought I would share five of my favorite tips with you.

1. When baking muffins or scones with berries or chocolate chips coat them in a little bit of flour before adding them to your batter so they don’t fall to the bottom.
2. Crack your eggs in a separate bowl to ensure they are fresh before adding them to your recipe.
3. If you are making a berry cobbler or crisp squeeze half a lemon over the berry mixture before baking. This enhances the flavors of the berries.
4. Roll out sugar cookies in powdered sugar rather than flour. This keeps them sweet.
5. To prevent teary eyes when you chop an onion light a candle nearby.

This week GLoaB has selected the Edna Valley Vineyard 2006 Chardonnay from the Central Coast of California.

The label looks like this:

This wine is mildly sweet with a little bit of spice. You can taste the flavors of citrus and peach. It very smooth and pairs well with seafood or chicken. We paired it with chicken piccata and it was perfect.

You can find this wine at wine.com for $14.29 and at Cost Plus World Market for $12.99 or less. Cost Plus puts this wine on sale often.

This is one of my favorite meals because it is healthy and full of fiber. I can easily feed 5-6 people for about $25 with this inexpensive recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 finely chopped carrots

3 finely chopped celery ribs

1/2 finely chopped medium white onion

3 finely chopped garlic cloves

2 (32 oz) packages of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 pound of dry lentils

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 (24 oz) can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

Black pepper

Instructions:

Start by rinsing the lentils in a colander and set aside. Finely chop the carrots, celery and onion. Heat a large soup pot or stock pot over medium heat and drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the pot. Cook the vegetables for five minutes until the onions are translucent. You don’t want to brown the vegetables you want to sweat them. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two.

Add the broth followed by the rinsed lentils and sprigs of rosemary. Place the lid on the pot and let the lentils cook in the broth for 30 minutes or until they are tender. Once the lentils are tender add the can of diced tomatoes and the Parmesan cheese. Stir the cheese into the soup then add salt and pepper to taste. Take the soup off the heat and remove the rosemary stems. The soup is ready to serve.

I like to serve the soup with a little more Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I also toast a few pieces of multi-grain bread to accompany the soup.

I’m preparing a few training sessions for my current project. I’ve compiled a list of tips from my past life as a trainer that will benefit my team in the weeks ahead.

1. Make the training as interactive as possible. Start with an ice breaker in the first 15 to 30 minutes of each day. I like getting ideas from books such as Quick Meeting Openers for Busy Managers and Quick Team Building Activities for Busy Managers.
2. Allow time for question and answer sessions throughout the program.
3. Informally quiz the trainees on the material during the session. This is a good way to recap the previous section after each break.
4. Provide some snacks for all-day sessions. I prefer to provide fresh fruits and nuts with a little bit of chocolate. I don’t want people going into sugar comas by mid-afternoon. I also keep coffee and water on hand.
5. If the training material doesn’t lend itself to being very interactive, give the attendees frequent five minute breaks. Every hour and 25 minutes should do the trick.
6. Make sure a flip chart and markers are available to write down issues and capture key items you want the trainees to take away from the session.
7. Audition any outside vendors you bring in to train your staff. It is very important to hire someone with knowledge and charisma.
8. Have an auditor sit in during the session to monitor participation. They may pick up on areas of improvement that the facilitator may miss.
9. Get an idea of what worked and what didn’t by having participants fill out brief surveys after the class.

With a little planning our upcoming training sessions will be productive and engaging.