Baddmom

I’ve talked many times about my love for the music HEB Hancock plays. Seriously, they rival any club. I often embarrass my kids by singing and dancing while shopping. (Thus finally making the full transition into my own mother) Yes, the store is busy — in fact, I heard a rumor that it’s THE busiest one –; yes, there are a ton of UT students there; yes, the parking lot way too small; yes, there are sometimes some let’s just say odd people hanging out there. All of these things make it part of the quirky experience of a grocery store trip. I’ve always enjoyed going there anyway because of the rad music and the excellent selection. Now, my HEB has taken things to an even higher level of awesome for me.

As other parents can attest, your kids’ birthday party is a big deal. I’ve thrown my share of them over the years (and a few other people’s share). I should know by now that early prep is key, yet I still let them sneak up on me. This year was possibly the worst I have been at pre-planning. I waited until 6 days before the event to even book the location (I hear your gasps) and then totally blanked on cake ordering. We went to HEB the day of the party and I let the twins look through the Book of Cakes in the bakery. They finally settled on a fancy princess one. When I mentioned that we needed the cake by 2:00 that same day, the bakery clerk was choking back laughter as she explained how that could not happen. It was then that I felt the panic set in. She must have seen it in my eyes as the twins started “Does this mean we won’t have a cake for our birthday???” I knew I was in the Mommy Fail Zone and I could flash forward to the twins telling their therapist “Well, it all started that year our mom didn’t get us a cake for our birthday…” I needed help, fast. Luckily this angel working in the bakery was there. She pulled a random cake out of the cabinet and asked the twins if they would like this cool cake and she could even put their names on it!!! She said this like putting names on a cake was this new, fantastic thing that they were getting special. They totally bought it and got all kinds of excited. I was saved! I nearly jumped over the counter to kiss her myself! Added bonus was that this HEB also carried the perfect pinata (one stop shopping at it’s finest) and every employee we walked by told the twins “happy birthday”. It was amazing!

This experience has turned me from just being an HEB fan into an HEB evangelist – I plan on spreading the word on how they saved me all over. I already have given them Props on Social Smack; praised them on Twitter; and raved about them on Facebook. Anywhere else I should post? Have you ever had an experience where a store was really “there” for you? I’d love to hear about it ~

We are back from our 3 week journey across the country and knee deep in real life again. I’ve spoken with several people who have told me that they followed our journey via my Facebook, Twitter, and Gowalla updates so I won’t bore you with a detailed rehash… Mostly, I wanted to share the lessons learned along the way and the ways that we made the trip work.

With the exception of staying several nights at my brother-in-law’s home in Seattle, we were mostly in a different hotel/different city every night. We allowed the kids to bring one suitcase and one “carry on” bag to keep with them in the car. Yes, for three weeks worth of travel. Part of what we wanted to discover on this trip is less of a reliance on THINGS and more of an enjoyment of each other, our scenery, and our activities. (Don’t worry, we still stimulated the economy by buying plenty of tshirts, pens, ornaments, etc.) We threw out all evidence of any type of schedule or plan and instead just enjoyed each day as they came. This was quite a departure of our normal, scheduled, booked, planned life so you would think a difficult change. Not so much. We slipped right into the last minute, seat of your pants, fly by night, lifestyle so easily it makes me question how committed we are to our normal life! At times we realized the value of planning (9:30 at night looking for a hotel that does not allow pets in tiny towns in Oregon being one) and other times just enjoyed the moment (watching the seals spontaneously play off our balcony in the San Juan Islands).

We initially thought about renting/buying a pop up trailer to camp in for the trip up to Seattle and back down. Thank God, Zeus, Budda and Poseiden we did NOT do that! We were roughing it plenty just by staying in random hotels. Some had only one plug (we are a tech-friendly family as you can imagine – huge problem), some had space heaters only (we have curious twins who burn easily), some had pet-friendly policies (we have one super allergic twin), some had droopy ceilings (pointed out by 11 year old as “Is this what they call a seedy hotel?”). Others were fantastic resorts where we really felt spoiled and on a true vacation. The contrast was nice as it helped remind us all that we should value the good times. There were times when we ate prepackaged sandwiches from gas stations because that is all there was food-wise for miles. Other times we dined at incredible restaurants that the kids didn’t really fully appreciate in Seattle. Again, the contrast was noted and enjoyed.

While it was a super fun adventure that brought us all a little closer together (not sure we needed that, but I’ll take it) we all shed a little tear of happiness to pull into our neighborhood, our home. I loved the nomadic, crazy, exciting life, but I will take my predictable happy home over it all.

More next post on how we used social media to our advantage on this trip (and ways you can, too!)

I know everyone is all kinds of mad at Facebook right now.  I get it.  They lied, they deceived, they tricked us.  Or did they?  Did they really tell us that all our information was going to be secured indefinitely?  No such promise was made when I started my profile 3 years ago.  I knew that all of my information I was putting out there was really Out There.  I’m cool with that though.  I like to share and socialize online (natch).  It’s what drew me to this field.  When Facebook changes privacy policies, I also can figure out how to jump through the hoops to keep my info limited in the way I want it to be.  I am not a “normal” user, however.  I know plenty of people who just want to tend to their virtual farms and share pictures with their families.  (No judgment, I promise.)  Lots of these people don’t “get” the openness of the web.  They don’t follow the trends for social marketing and they don’t realize why they get ads for “Meet Other Singles Online” while they play Farmville.  It’s this population who need to be made aware before changes are made to their privacy settings.

I also can understand Facebook’s need to bring in revenue.  Here’s an excellent blog post by Doug Wick that explains this thoroughly.  What it comes down to is our need to connect.  We are social beings – even those of us who think we are shy loners.  Once we are used to connecting to people who we otherwise wouldn’t see in our daily lives through Facebook, we have a hard time dropping out.  I know I have friends from my past on Facebook who I am thrilled to have reconnected with and would now feel a sense of loss if that were gone.  So, you can get mad (and even justify it), but you just can’t quit it can you?

Whether your family is you and your spouse; you and your kids; a couple with kids; or just you and your pets, this is the timeless question…  how do you balance work and family life?  Do you give up the promising career to stay home with the kids?  Do you turn down a promotion because it will mean more travel?  Do you take the kind of job that has a hard stop at the end of the day so you can be completely present with your family at night?  Or do you take a work from home job that is super flexible, but you are always “on”?

First of all, we are lucky enough to have these types of questions to answer.  Choice is good.  In my family, we have done several combos of all types of family styles with work choices.  I have been able to be a SAHM – with all the highs and lows of that choice.  Now back to working full time with a flexible schedule, I have seen the benefits and pitfalls of that choice.  There are many ways to make it work, but I think it all comes down to support.  And this is where social media comes in (I know you were waiting to see how this was going to relate!).  Every time I speak with someone who is starting a new career — be that a traditional job or having a first child– my first advice is FIND FRIENDS!  I’m social by nature (natch) so I solved the SAHM blues by finding other moms in my city and online who got what I was going through.  Way back then there was no Facebook or Twitter (gasp!) so I found others on iVillage, yahoo groups and other mom chat rooms.  Now, back at work, I have reached out through the organization to find friends there who are in similar situations to mine.  I have friends on twitter and facebook also who I wouldn’t know without these platforms.  These new friends have turned into my lifeline on days where I’m at my wits end.   The end result for both types of outreach?  I’m happy most everyday with what I am doing.  I credit this phenomenon called Social Media with helping me keep balance in my life.

I would LOVE to hear the ways you have found balance in your life!  How have you kept all your various balls in the air while also maintaining a smile on your face?  Does social media help you with that?

Here’s the story of how a trip to Taco Bell inspired me to start a blog.

My journey from professional, ambitious career driven person to stay at home mom and back to somewhere in the middle has taught me a lot of different things about life.  First that you can do it all, but just not all at the same time.  More on that later.  Next, it has taught me that you can’t hide the real you.  This holds true for people as much as it does for companies.  I believe that this has always been true, but is magnified even more now with the social media world where we all live.  You can’t claim to be someone who helps and supports others, but also consistently make this list.  You will be exposed and the real you will come out eventually.  We are all putting our “real” selves out there so much via Facebook, Twitter, blogs that it doesn’t take too many clicks for a potential employer to uncover the real you.  If you have a snarky side, go with it.  It is who you are — you might as well own it.  You’ll waste too much effort trying to cover it up.  This is one of the many things that I love about social media.  Transparency.

Now what does this mean for companies?  And how does this relate to Taco Bell?  Company culture is their personality.  Companies can be branded socially and this can be a great way to expand their business or product and get their word out.  Many marketing companies do this very well. (Like this one, this one, and this one) The issue is that the client company needs to make sure that their marketed personality or brand is authentic.  For example, if you are selling products to schools, make sure your company really believes in education.  And here’s how Taco Bell fits in —

I was at the drive thru for Taco Bell (I know, not my finest health moment – no judgment!) and I saw a sticker on their window advertising their important function in society — providing the “Fourth Meal”.  I snickered at this idea as that is a whole other chapter in my life where I would have actually been awake late enough to eat another meal after dinner.  I get it though.  It’s the after bar crowd that they are appealing to, not me.  That fits with my thoughts on Taco Bell and my impression on “who” they are.  Then I looked through the window inside the store (restaurant?) to the dining area.  In there was a cardboard cut out of this 30-something woman holding some meal choices that touted the fact that Taco Bell had so many healthy, low calorie options.  What?  I mean I get that they are trying to reach a different market, however, you can’t be both.  You can’t tell people it’s cool to eat a whole other meal after midnight and also tell people that you promote a healthy lifestyle.  Pick your personality and go with it, embrace it, own it.  We see right through you…