It’s been over two months, almost three actually since I have blogged.  Not good.  And not recommended.  It has been a busy few months for sure, both professionally and personally.    The PR industry is changing rapidly and I find it exciting and daunting all at the same time.

It makes me think back to when I started my career almost 13 years ago (yes, I am getting old).  I started as an administrative assistant to an EVP at a top ten PR agency in NYC.  The agency as I knew it no longer exists, but some of the same people are there.  During my short stint as an admin, I learned more about business in general, and about PR, then I think I ever did in school.  I worked for a very demanding EVP who at the time ran the “Tech Practice” as well as the New Business Department.   My sole responsibilities were typing memos (via dictaphone), binding presentations and making sure his kids were signed up for Kids Camp (ski) at Stowe.  There were many other tasks of course, but I soon mastered them and moved on to be a Junior Account Executive, Account Executive, then Senior Account Executive.

So, media was my game.  First it was doing clips.  I have tried explaining this to some of the younger staff I work with, but yes, we would get clips in the MAIL that we would need to find mastheads for and work magic on the copy machine to make them look “good”.  There was no scanning or PDF.  Then as an Account Executive, my media relations turned into event manangement in some cases  and also pitching the media – via FAX and MAIL.    Again, not comprehensable to anyone starting out in PR today.  And press kits?  Yes, we stayed at work until the wee hours of the morning putting them together and yes, we did MAIL them.  Labels and all.

Today of course, things are 100% different – tactically at least.  There is still a need to reach the influencers for our clients, but no longer is it just the media.  And no longer is it a one-way communication strategy – it shouldn’t be anyway.  Engagement is a word that is frequently overused, but it must become standard.

So, today, I reflect on the industry I have spent my “working life” in.  And, it’s pretty neat.

Thursday, September 24 marks the fifth anniversary of the night my husband and I got engaged at Michael Timothy’s.  I simply can not believe everything that has transpired over the past 5 years.  We have moved a few times, got a dog, had one kid, bought a house and had another kid…oh and we are still fixing the “new” house.  All of these things are good.  We love our life.  However, next year I will be entering the “latter half” of my 30’s and it’s a bit scary.  We have so much we want to see and do, and we will, but I am starting to feel REALLY old.

Those that know me, know I take housework pretty seriously, or at least attempt to make it a priority.  Sometimes this is difficult when you work full-time and have two toddlers.  However, I came across this blog post on Full Time, All The Time (lives on Work It! Mom) that has some great tips.   To date, I do most of them and would also like to add a few tips of my own, that help save time and be more efficient:

1. Pack lunches the night before (when cleaning the supper table, put left overs directly into lunch containers).

2. Take the trash out every night, no matter what.

3. Make the beds every morning – even if the house isn’t completely picked up, it seems that way.

4. Always have newspapers on hand – makes for a great “drop cloth” for the impromptu paint sessions

I will admit – I have been ignoring my blog.   And I don’t mean to, really, I don’t.  Life has just gotten so incredibly busy lately that I have not had the proper time to draft a post -and I don’t now either as I am rushing through my lunch break.  But, I do have a few things I want to say.

First, the state of our country is SCARING me.  That is all I will say about that.

Secondly, I am very thankful for my husband and children.

Thirdly, I am lucky enough to really like what I do for a living.

Lastly,  for fun, I just read this blog entry on Business Week’s Working Parent’s Blog and it made me smile.  While I will never be a CEO of anything – household or company (since I straddle both), I like this idea.

I like this definition from Wikipedia:

“Integrity may be seen as the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness in regard to the motivations for one’s actions.”

Does this sound difficult to live by?  Didn’t think so.  I wish more people would start living this way.

No, not literally. But check this out.  This post talks about a Q&A with Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake, M.D., authors of the book, “Smart Girls Marry Money“.   And if you clicked these links, you would see that it’s not really about marrying for money, but more about having that open dialogue with your potential partner.

I have only been married for a few years, but I will say that I am so grateful we went through Pre-Cana.  Some of our friends laughed at us, but truly, it was a great exercise.  it forced is to think about financial issues we may not have thought about – what percentage to dump in 401k, mortgage rate, health insurance costs – and how all of these (and other) line items affect our bottom line – and our household.

I  mean, now that we pay out thousands to daycare, it’s not that relevant, but still…every penny counts!

And, I mean this literally.  The WSJ’s The Juggle posted about a recent study on bi-racial teens, found here.  About halfway through the article I realized that they just surveyed/studied black and white kids.    So, like you are only considered bi-racial if you are a mix of black and white?  I have posted about this issue before.  Because my kids ARE  bi-racial and they are not the typical black and white combination, they are, gee, how do I say it?  Well, I can’t put it in colors because there aren’t any to describe how beautiful my children are.  They don’t have a color per se.

My point is, when people think “bi-racial” they often think of it in black and white terms, and it’s not.  Believe me, anyone who knows me,  knows I tend to think in black and white, but I certainly don’t live it.  Obviously.

So,  I wonder what behaviors my kids will exhibit in their teens….I guess I will just wait and find out.  And to anyone who reads through the post or the survey, note the data is from the 1990’s…when I, my bi-racial husband and a lot of you, were in your teens.  And I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t posting graffiti or stealing. …

Yes, I know, it’s been awhile.  But rest assured, it’s not because I am “taking it easy”.  Check out this article on Forbes.  This article about recent graduates is completely disturbing for a number of different reasons.  This not the time to take it easy, rather this is the time to get your act together and do everything you possibly can to ensure you gain employment.  Are they not thinking clearly?  Obviously!

What about health insurance?  Or are they convinced that the government will institute national healthcare and all will be solved?

Good quote here: “As a generation, this age group doesn’t have a lot of resiliency and resistance,” says Philip Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. “This is a generation that has had a lot of enablers making sure things get done for them. They haven’t had to deal with adversity, and they think that when times get tough, someone is going to help them. If you have never been held accountable, you have a tendency to just withdraw. It’s an entitlement thing.”

Long story short, get off your duff.

Ok, so first off,  apologies for not posting lately.  But this was worth waiting for.

Did you all see this post on the WSJ’s The Juggle last week?  Please do click on it.  Yes, it’s Dr. Laura talking about SAHMs.  Fine, we all have choices to make.  Key word is choice, right?

HOWEVER, some of her comments are truly disturbing:

“When your husband comes home, wrap your body around him at the door and look at his eyes. What people need to learn is that it’s not about the drudgery of housework — it’s about being at home for all of those incredible moments that make your life more valuable than the person who replaced you at work.”

This is not even worth a comment, but COME ON.  If you are home all day with the kids, I am sure your disposition will not be ammenable to the above statement.

“For everything in life, you have to make a priority list. This must be done. If we truly believe in something and cherish it, we find a way to make it happen. Women go from making seven-figure salaries to staying at home, and things just start to be less important.”

Right, so I guess paying the mortgage becomes “less important”.  Interesting.

I waited a week before I posted about this because I, along withe some friends of mine, we pretty riled up.  Still am to an extent.

And hey, what about those of us who WANT to work because we LIKE OUR JOBS?  What would Dr. Laura say to that?

Today is my daughter’s first birthday and it’s the first day of  Spring.   When she was born last  year I didnt’ even realize it was the first day of Spring!  But now, a year later it’s hard to believe that she is ONE and that it’s actually Spring!  Lots to be thankful for over the past year, and every day.