Tag Archives: business

Apr25

Popcorn and Craisins Bento

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Popcorn and Craisins Bento

Today’s EasyLunchBox is full of the kids’ favorite lunchtime foods:

Favorite Foods Lunch

Favorite Foods Lunch

They have ham and cheese crescent roll sandwiches that my mom made for them, babybel cheese with starts cut into them, popcorn with craisins, strawberries and blue berries, and Little Dude has yogurt, where Girlie has cucumber and tomato.  This lunch was very simple and took just a few minutes to assemble. I know it will be their favorite for this week!

I’m in Washington D.C. today, attending a Salesforce event.  Cloudforce is on tour and I am lucky enough to be attending for the second time this year.  Luckily I am able to take the train and avoid traffic! Any Pennsylvania or New Jersey people want to explain a travel riddle to me?  I live in PA, and the most convenient Amtrak station for me is in Trenton, NJ.  My friend lives in southern NJ and the most convenient station for him is 30th Street in Philadelphia, PA.  How are we switching states to get on the same train.  It is mind boggling!

Do you attend professional events regularly?  I do and I think they are very helpful for training and networking.  Hope you’re having a great week!

Apr15

Look up!

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Look up!

Hey, check out the address bar at the top of your browser!  I have moved to my own domain, www.rachelsrandom.com, in preparation for the new Cooking with Trader Joe’s cookbook my lunchboxes will be featured in!

I am not generally a big fan of cookbooks, but I own several of the Cooking with Trader Joe’s line because they are easy to use and feature ingredients that I have access to at my favorite grocery store.  They have beautiful pictures and great recipe ideas.  I purchased their “Pack a Lunch” volume when I first embarked on this crazy lunchbox journey of mine and I am thrilled that my recipes (and my family) will be featured in their EasyLunchBoxes book at the end of the summer.

I don’t know yet which of my recipe submissions will be published, but I have official word that something will be included.  I also have submitted my bio and had Rachel Beck out this morning to take some family pictures.  Rachel is a very talented photographer that I met at my brother’s wedding last year.  She works great with the kids and takes beautiful shots of anyone in any situation. I am excited that she was able to come out for the cookbook photos today.

There is still work to be done to be ready for the book, but a lot of progress has been made.  I expect I’ll work on making the site a little more professional looking for the summer release and I’ll have to keep coming out with lots of great creative lunches to showcase on this blog.  I think my next page to develop is a gallery.  I have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of time to implement.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the cookbook by clicking on the picture below:

Cooking With Trader Joes - EasyLunchBoxes

I'll be featured in this cookbook (Summer 2012)!

Have a great weekend!  We’re about to head out to the beach!!! :)

Apr10

Dolphins and Eggs? Random Lunch Today

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Dolphins and Eggs? Random Lunch Today

After a business trip last week and then a very busy 4-day weekend with the kids, my fridge is bare!  I have had no time at all to get shopping done.  Today’s lunch was put together using the very last two pieces of bread (the bottom slice is an end piece!) the last two eggs, the final servings of yogurt, and the lone pear sitting in the fruit bowl!  Seriously!  I got the fridge filled up again this afternoon, but today’s lunch suffered a little! Here’s what I packed in their EasyLunchBoxes:

Dolphins and Eggs Bento!

Dolphins and Eggs Bento!

The kids have a PB&J sandwich, using their dolphin sandwich cutter. I like this one because it makes two dolphins and a little heart. I gave girlie the heart because I knew she’d appreciate it more than little dude!  She had a Hello Kitty egg mold and Little Dude got a car, both were nested in their flower cups.  They both have grapes, pears, and yogurt with colored sprinkles.  The Girlie also has some Sugar Snap Peas because she loves them!

In other news, I had my one and only “rest day” between jobs today.  I used it well!  I watched a movie with the kids in the morning and took them to school late. Then I went to the Newtown Athletic Club for pretty much the entire day!  I did a great weights workout and had a shower.  Then I had a smoothie in the cafe while I filled out paperwork for the spa visit I was about to begin, and caught up on e-mail and Facebook.  Then I went to the spa for a massage and a facial!   They took extra good care of me and I was so relaxed that I actually napped through much of the facial.  I needed the rest.  A couple of errands later, I picked up the kids, fed them and got them to bed early!

I’m about to start some computer set-up in preparation for my new job tomorrow morning!  And then I need to get lunches packed and get some rest.  I am very anxious to begin my new consulting gig, but also very excited. Wish me luck!

Does anyone out there have good organization advice?  I have heard some great things about EverNote and I think I might try to use that to replace OneNote?  Any other ideas? Thank you!

Apr6

Wanna hear a crazy story?

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Wanna hear a crazy story?

I had a blast in Denver, even though I was there for work.  I managed to visit with many people that are important in my life, but who I rarely get to see.  High on my priority list was my cousin and his family.  Unfortunately, the only time that worked for all of us was on the way from the Denver office to the airport and we’d really only have half an hour.

I went over as planned, and when it was time to leave, I stopped and rearranged the contents of my bags and changed into more comfortable shoes.  Then I slammed the trunk shut and realized I had locked the keys inside.  I then called AAA and waited about 45 minutes for someone to come unlock me, while my cousin attempted to break in!

By the time I was done with the AAA driver, it was 6:30 and my flight was at 7:30.  I had to drive about half an hour to the airport, drop off the rental car, take the shuttle to the airport, go through security, take the tram, and run across the airport in one hour.  Yeah, right.

Well, I am always up for a challenge, so I decided to pretend I was on the Amazing Race and give it a shot.  Alternate plans were not so desirable and I really wanted to be home when my kids woke up the next morning.   So, I went for it!  Traffic was amazingly light.  I made it to the airport at 7pm exactly.  I threw the keys at the rental staffer at Budget and jumped on the shuttle.  I begged the driver to leave immediately and take me to my place first.  She was wonderful and did just that.

I arrived at the airport at 7:05 and ran to security.  If you could have felt my heartbreak when I saw how long the line was, you’d know I was miserable.  I ran up to a worker and asked for help and was rudely told to go wait in line.  I decided to implore other travelers to let me through.  Only one person out of 200 or so in line gave me a hard time.  Everyone else let me through and wished me luck.  I must remember this next time I see a desperate mom running fast for her flight!

I made it through security by about 7:15.  I got right onto a tram and RAN to the terminal as fast as I could.  I made it, sweaty and breathless at about 7:25 – I was one of the last on the plane, but I hadn’t held up anyone.   It was kind of fun, but wildly stressful.  Just once, I want to sit in the airport wine bar by myself and unwind after a trip, but between family trips and the drama of every single business trip I have ever been on, it has never happened.  It probably never will.

Anyway, this is the second time this year that I have gone running like a crazy person through an airport and I got lucky both times.  Have you done this before?  How was your luck?  I would not recommend it, but I was so glad it worked out for me!

Apr5

Hello from Denver!

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Hello from Denver!

I am wrapping up my last day in Denver today.  I am a chronic over-scheduler, and this trip was no different.  On top of spending all day training managers on my job duties for 3 full days, I found time to visit family and friends, enjoy some fabulous restaurants, and even squeeze in a couple of workouts.

I arrived around lunchtime on Tuesday and promptly demanded I be taken on a journey to the original Chipotle restaurant by the Denver University campus.  My co-workers are super nice to indulge this wish-list item for me and we had a great time.  Oh, and it was SNOWING here on Tuesday!

My triumphant quest to eat at the original Chipotle!

My triumphant quest to eat at the original Chipotle!

Later that night, my Uncle Fred and gorgeous cousin Stephie drove out here from Boulder to take me out to dinner.  We went to a great restaurant called the Cherry Creek Grill and enjoyed an amazing meal and some delicious wine. It was great to catch up on their exciting lives… they’ve both been traveling and Steph is about to graduate college!

On Wednesday morning, I woke up early so I could squeeze in a workout at the hotel gym.  I got through my weights routine just fine and was happy that the gym was well stocked.  I had breakfast at Panera and then got right to work at the MegaPath building right next door.   My friend Kelsey met me for lunch at Garbanzo (kind of like a Chipotle but with falafel) and we had the nicest time chatting together.  We’ve been friends for many years, but we’ve never had one on one time before.  I loved spending time with her!  After work, I went to Happy Hour with a coworker and then my my lovely Aunt Anne and Uncle Gordon from Aurora came to take me out to dinner at Piatti!  I had such a nice time with them. They are wonderful people  from my extended family and I love visiting with them.

I woke up and hit the gym for a cardio workout this morning and am now back in the office, blogging while I watch my boss try to suffer through my old job duties. Haha.  Sorry, boss!  Next up is lunch with friends, and then I will sneak out of here early to visit my other cousins in Denver before hitting the airport for my 7pm flight.  This was a whirlwind trip for sure, but I am so glad I got the chance to do it!

Oh, and in lunchbox news, my mom proudly texted me that she packed my kids sugar, junkfood, and pizza lunchables for school lunch today.  She said she wished she could see the teacher’s reactions at this lunchbox makeover.   Here is the candy she put in my Girlie’s lunchbox:

Circus Peanuts! Really, Mom????

Circus Peanuts! Really, Mom????

Am I annoyed by the lunchables?  Sure.  Probably more so than the candy because the plastic waste really bugs me.  But hey, if I’m away and my Mom is taking care of them and wants to spoil them with junk, so be it.  Once in a while they can shake things up a bit.  What’s funny is I bet the lunchbox comes home with more leftovers than when I pack them fresh fruits and veggies.  I can’t wait to hear what my Girlie tells me about this tomorrow!

I am so looking forward to being home with my kids again, though tomorrow will be a trying day.  I’ll be arriving home very late (3am!) and then up early with the kiddos, who are out of school tomorrow, wrapping up my last day at MegaPath, and then attending a family event later that night.  When will I ever get some rest???? Probably never!  I do this to myself.

Have you changed jobs recently?  Any tips for getting off to a good start?  I am very excited but also very nervous for my new adventure!