Prince William and Princess Catherine Royal Wedding

I enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding live, even if I had to get up at 1am to watch the commentaries before the actual wedding itself! Catherine was radiant and William looked very much in love! May their union be filled with lasting love and peace.

Photos courtesy of this and this website.

Royal Wedding

Watching the Royal Wedding! It must be so exciting for William and Kate!

An official photo of Prince William and his fiancee

Catherine Middleton, released April 28, 2011.

Happy Easter

There are so many things to be thankful for this Easter. Its very private so I cannot post it here, but truly, I am thankful! HAPPY EASTER!!!

Quote of the Day

Home Offices and Pros/Cons of Telecommuting

Photo courtesy of Ikea

Our company is offering some employees a work from home program. I'm still unsure if it is right for me. A lot of my friends who have "gone home" to work are loving it. My biggest concern is missing the people interaction. Now, all these home offices look nice, but I still have to weigh the pros and cons of working from home. Here is an article I found here about the pros and cons of telecommuting.

June 11

The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting

by Chris Poteet on 6/11/2010 8:00 AM

Category: Misc

Telecommuting has become an increasingly popular benefit offered by companies to their employees especially in the IT sector. Many people start these jobs without understanding the full implications of such a lifestyle choice.

As one of Portal Solution's full time remote employees, I'd like to share some of my experience and things I've learned to remain effective while telecommuting. Portal Solutions does allow their employees to work from home on occasion even when they are local, so this would apply on a smaller scale to that work situation as well.

The Pros of Telecommuting

Telecommuting has some advantages that make it a particularly attractive alternative for employees. While the telecommuting situation is most often desired by employees there are benefits to the employer as well.

• Physical commuting ceases to exist. The most amount of commuting I do on a daily basis is from my bedroom into the office, and there are no traffic jams in between.
• There is no dress code. I don't have to worry about ironing pants or shirts since I work in casual clothes all the time.
• You are close to family. Most jobs pull apart families for at least 40 hours a week, but in this situation that doesn't exist.
• More flexible than flex time. Telecommuting allows you to work when you want (within reason) as long as you complete your tasks and hourly requirements.
• Less distractions during the day. During a normal work day there are many impromptu meetings and discussions that can interrupt your workflow, and a remote worker often isn't included in those.
• Cheaper to have employees. If a company is completely a remote workplace then there is no need for physical offices, utilities, etc.

The Cons of Telecommuting

Even though telecommuting appears on the surface to be all positive there are some things to keep in mind.

• No real relationships with co-workers. One of the fun things about work is that your co-workers become your extended family. When you're remote it's difficult to build that level of familiarity especially when you miss out on birthday parties, company picnics, etc. Also, sometimes the most productive work happens informally, and it can't be duplicated working remotely.
• You are close to family. Even though this was listed as a pro it is also a con. Family can often get in the way of productive work if they are not giving you space while you work.
• Chores around the house await. For some reason when you're working from home the immediacy of needing to clean your apartment/house increases. It's not fun to work in disheveled environment.
• The need to travel. Some may view this as a pro or con, but telecommuting most often requires of the employee the need to travel whether to the main office or to a client site.
• The blurry line between work and home life. When going into an office it's much easier to separate your work from home life since they live in different physical locations but not so when telecommuting. Your home is your workplace, and if you're not careful one can consume the other.

Tips to Stay Productive

While there are pros and cons to working remotely there are some things you can do to stay productive and maintain a good relationship with your employer.

• Stay in constant communication. The responsibility lies with the remote worker to maintain active communication with everyone. You must not let yourself fall between the cracks.
• Be involved when you're in the office. Whenever I travel to the office I make an extra effort to do activities with my co-workers. This might be meals, hanging out at night, or even getting the opportunity to enjoy those informal conversations.
• Ensure personal accountability. The remote worker is responsible to an even greater degree that their tasks are being done effectively and efficiently. The best way to ensure this is to set up accountability for yourself and not wait on others to do it for you.
• Get into a working mindset. Some remote workers still dress up like they're going to work to ensure they stay in a work mindset. Do what you need to do to put your attention to work when it's time to do so.
• Set up work/home boundaries. After you've worked your eight or so hours for the day you have to consciously put work down to focus on your home life.

Conclusion

As you can see there are real pros and cons to this lifestyle, but when you take necessary steps to ensure success then both the employee and employer can have a successful experience.

Thankful for...

... having a wonderful husband
who I can share my life with!!!

(photo courtesy of this website)

Happiness

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

- Frederick Keonig

Gina's Turkey Meatloaf

Recipe courtesy the Neelys

I was watching Down Home with the Neelys, Episode "Leaner Lunch" and saw them making this. Hmmmm, now I know what to cook this week! Looks gooooood!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
• 6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 shallot, sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Saute until mushrooms are browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in red pepper flakes and saute for 1 more minute. Add chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce, remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine egg, panko, blue cheese, and mushroom mixture. Fold in turkey and combine. Don't over work or the meatloaf will be tough.

Shape into a long rectangular loaf directly on a sheet tray. Spoon tomato sauce on top of the loaf and shingle sliced shallots down the top. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, and serve.

8 essentials for authentic red velvet cake

I love Red Velvet Cake, so I was happy when Yahoo posted an article about Red Velvet today, for link on original article click here:

• by The_Stir, on Tue Feb 8, 2011 4:14pm PST

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Nicole Taylor did a segment on real Southern red velvet cake on her foodie radio show, Hot Grease. Nicole is a Southern girl, born and raised in Georgia, and she has some pretty strong opinions about authentic red velvet cake. She searched for the real thing in New York City and came to the stunning conclusion that red velvet here is just wrong, wrong, wrong!

Well, if the culinary capital of the nation can't get it right, does anyone north of the Mason-Dixon get it right? And what's getting lost in translation? What exactly goes into the quintessential red velvet cake?

Although red velvet cake has a mild chocolate flavor, it is not, by definition, a chocolate cake. Rather, it’s a devil's food cake that's made with cocoa, white vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. The deep red color comes from red food dye, and the cake is traditionally iced in rich cream cheese frosting. Legend has it that the cake was actually born in the North, at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. But there's no question that regardless of its origins, it has become a Southern specialty.

Some bakers out there seem to think all they need is red batter and white frosting to make red velvet cake. Not so, says Nicole, who has eight rules for the truly authentic red velvet cake:

1. The cake must have some cocoa, but not too much because it is not a chocolate cake.

2. The cake must have red food coloring; beet juice does not add the right kind of red.

3. The cake must have cream cheese frosting.

4. There should be pecans. (This was news to me.)

5. You must use high-quality ingredients, including White Lily flour, a Southern specialty flour.

6. Precise measurements and meticulous attention to detail are key for this cake; therefore, it must be made in small, easy-to handle, family-sized batches. (Mass-produced batter just doesn't cut it. Sorry, large-scale bakeries.)

7. You must use a hand-held electric mixer, not a stand mixer: Larger machines can over-mix the batter, which sometimes prevents the cake from rising properly.

8. Red velvet cake batter needs vegetable oil, not butter or shortening. Oil yields a very moist cake.

I've looked around for a recipe and was thrilled to discover this one, which incorporates all eight essentials for the perfect red velvet cake.

Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes from Food Network

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

Happy Sunday!

Have a nice Super Bowl Sunday everyone! It would be nice to watch it in a family room like this!

Cavallo Point, Sausalito, California

It would be nice to have a get away this weekend as I really need some much needed R&R. This looks like a good place to do it....