Windridge Reflections

It's that time of year again - enjoy! Bon Bons & Shortbread Bon-Bons 1 lb. powdered sugar 1 14 oz. package flake coconut 2 tsp. vanilla 1 cube butter (1/2 cup) 1 can sweetened condensed milk Mix the above together and chill - then roll into small balls, set on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen take small balls off cookie sheet and put in plastic freezer bags. Return to freezer. When you want to make Bon-Bons simply take as many as you want out of the package and dip in melted chocolate. Set on waxed paper to cool and harden. Chocolate: 1 12 oz. pkg chocolate chips melted with 1/4 block paraffin. (I use toothpicks and a small pickle fork for this).... Set chocolate covered Bon-Bons on waxed paper until set. *** I use Scharffen Berger Bittersweet or Semi-sweet Chocolate melted with a small amount of paraffin or Crisco.

The ice machine in the refrigerator was not working. The water dispenser in the refrigerator was not working. Two very convenient features, which when one looked at the control panel, there was no reason why they shouldn’t be working…all systems should have been: “GO!” First step: Empty all ice out of icemaker. After all, it could simply be jammed. It wouldn’t explain the “no water” situation but, oh well. No luck. Push a few buttons, open and close the door (like that is going to somehow help), converse about who pushed what button and why (a polite blame-game), open and close the door again. And then from my vast experience of sitting in front of computers that have a tendency to sometimes stop working for no apparent reason (I’m sure you all have experienced that frustratingly frozen screen), I suggested: “Let’s turn it off, unplug it, let it sit for a moment, plug it back in, and see if it reboots.” Worked like a charm—ice and water flowed freely. Lesson learned: Som...

Zite Here are a few of the productivity tools I find handy in my online, “keeping track of everything” life… CalenGoo – On my iPhone and synced with Outlook. I like colors—thus I love my CalenGoo calendar :) (I also have a paper Franklin Covey “workhorse” daily planner—pen and paper are good things.) Time Tracker – For days when I want to know (at the end of the day) how I spent my hours. Plus this is a great tool for tracking coaching calls and / or social media time. Word Document – Pretty standard I know. I keep an opened Word document minimized on my computer. Whenever I want / need to capture something from the net, a website, quote, name, etc…I simply copy and paste it to the document, then minimize the document to the side / bottom of the screen. At the end of the day, or after a few days, I can review and file the things I want / need to refer to later, use in a blog post, forward to a client and / or delete when I find at second glance that I’m no lo...

I cautiously joined Facebook about four-and-a-half years ago after receiving numerous invites, but in the beginning I was too afraid to drink the social media Kool-Aid. In fact, after opening my account, I wound up not using it for eight months. It was pretty intimidating and I didn’t feel a need to rush into this new-fangled form of communication. Besides, I’m a fairly private person and pushing myself into learning social media networking skills was pretty daunting... And most important, what if I looked dumb? So, to make my entry into cyber networking doable, I decided I needed a goal, something to make Facebook a means to an end...a reason to give it my time and energy. In my line of work, I’m in constant contact with clients and colleagues via the phone and / or e-mail; my question was: Could I use Facebook to help build up my communication skills and present my thoughts in a clearer, more concise manner? I’ve found that over the past few years my answer to this quest...

Of late, I’ve had the feeling that my mornings or afternoons have been swallowed up. I don’t have a clue about what has been accomplished or completed. I’m not sure whether this is from being too busy or not busy enough, but no matter, I’ve got to get a handle on it! In the past I’ve always turned to paper time sheets etc., but this time I’ve decided to go “cyber” and so I searched for an iPhone app that would track tasks, and more importantly in “real” time. The reason for using an iPhone app versus a web-based system is mobility. During the day, I may go from point A to point B and I don’t want to have to constantly login, logout, go to a different room or computer to enter my data. I want my system to move with me and be quick and fairly easy to learn. What I found was a cool little tool appropriately called the Time Tracker by Nonlinear Ideas, Inc . I originally downloaded the “free” version, but today I upgraded because the pie charts are pretty nice plus it offers more control ...

I was actually pretty proud of myself this morning… Walk completed Starbucks latte purchased All the monthly income and expense data entered into Excel by 8:30 a.m.; not bad for a Monday morning. Suddenly, and God as my witness I don’t know how, my Starbucks latte tipped over and instead of simply dripping out the little sippy hole (which would have been wonderful), the entire single/grande/vanilla latte flowed, yes, that is what it did—flowed—all over my desk! Okay, there are a couple of options here: scream, cuss, cry, rant and rave, I could have even “blamed” someone, except I work by myself, or remain somewhat composed and get something / anything to stop the increasing flow of coffee—quickly! In my many years on this earth, I’ve learned that typically the best course of action is to remain composed and move quickly. And so, hand towel, paper towels, and wet paper towels were my arsenal to mop up the mess quickly and silently (followed by lemon scented Pledge to help cut the c...

I usually find myself reading three to five books at a time. These books range from devotional / reflective to business related, with a novel thrown in once in a while. Most of the time my bookmarks consist of simply grabbing the closest scrap of paper, or latest “fall out” piece from a magazine (typically a subscription notice) and jamming it in as a place holder. Not long ago, it dawned on me, how uninspiring this habit is. I mean, scraps and subscription slips—how boring! A few days after this revelation as I was straightening up my kitchen, I decided to update my “fridge photos” to keep life relevant. I replaced a couple of older photos with more recent shots and then looked at the three or four photos in my hand and wondered, what should I do with these outbound photos?  Aha! I now take the outgoing "fridge" photos and use them for my bookmarks! They are wonderful reminders of the people or places most precious to me, and add color and depth to my reading time.

"Gardening is an instrument of grace" May Sarton

Today I set up Google Calendar on my computer, syncing it with Outlook (which moving forward may not be that necessary) and added CalenGoo to my iPhone. This is all in an attempt to manage my time and appointments more efficiently. There is also the possibility that I’m simply bored with my current Outlook format. Here is the link for the iPhone CalenGoo app.... It's pretty cool!

There may be “ 100,000 apps for that ,”but recently I added four new apps to my iPhone that I truly find helpful for my day to day life, and business. Give these four iPhone apps a try: 1. Lose It! I have always been a huge Weight Watchers (WW) fan (and I mean no disrespect to that fine program) but this app is awesome! For some reason having over 1300 calories to consume feels like so much more than 23 WW points…plus the app instantly adds exercise calories and recalculates your daily intake accordingly. 2. Go Pedometer : I have only used this app a couple times and I really like it. I wish it would measure in “miles” versus “feet,” but there is a slight possibility that I just don’t know how to program it yet. 3. Pandora : Creates really nice music mixes for you on your iPhone or computer. 4. Awesome Note : Love it! I already have several folders titled To Do / Shopping / Windridge / Music / Travel Diary / Etc. Extremely helpful and the graphics are fun. On Another Note This is not a...

Most days I keep a minimized Word document open on my computer for copying website addresses, articles I want to use or read later, etc. It's a great way to grab (copy and paste) something when I don't have time at the moment to read, but want the resource/reference for later. At the end of the day I can review, save what I want and delete the rest.

I remember the days when it would take me up to two weeks (of frustration) and $300.00 minimum for my web-guy to make even small changes to my website; we're talking simply adding a comma or changing a few words! Now I do it myself, and I've found I thoroughly enjoy the creativity and dare I say "control" of managing my website content. If you are in need of web design support, call: Paul Cowan Art Director www.iconix.biz Iconix Digital Arts Tullahoma, TN 37388 931.393.2486 tel 866.596.6152 fax Paul has helped me save thousands of dollars! (Yikes - this sounds like an infomercial!)

I found what looks like a neat little web application for tracking goals. Check out Joe's Goals It looks really simple, and it's free....

This morning as I crawled onto the freeway with only 20 minutes to arrive at a destination that should, on a good day, only take 20 minutes to reach... each car that stopped, waited and then s-l-o-w-l-y crept onto the freeway seemed to take forever to move ahead and on into traffic. I glanced over to my left shoulder only to see traffic barely moving in all four lanes of the freeway and I hate to admit it, but I had one of those “What am I doing getting on the freeway at this time in the morning? This was a crazy idea... I should have known better... I should have taken a side-street... Should I get off at the next exit and wind my way around, or continue on? I’ve got to decide - I’ve got to change course - or do I?” This annoyed/irritated thought process kept me occupied until I finally entered the freeway, and low and behold in less than two minutes I was cruising along at 50 – 55 mph listening to a great podcast and enjoying a beautiful morning drive. What I was reminded of by this ...

It always amazes me that a little 15x16x2 inch technical device can bring one to the point of wanting to melt into a puddle of frustration on the floor…. After all I am a self-controlled, rational person; why can’t I handle this? And I bet you’ve been here too…… Over this past weekend I had the "joy" of resolving a virus issue on my laptop…. Need I say more? I dare you to go onto the Norton’s site and try to find any “real person” support for this… Not a soul is there! So, here I was taking off programs that asked “Do you really want to remove this?” or “We recommend that you never remove this….” While looking at instructions that said “Disable XYZ, reconfigure, and then enable XYZ along with the ABC…...” Ya right! By 10 pm on Sunday evening (why is it children get sick and computers crash on the weekend?) I was exhausted…. It appeared that I had gotten the varmint viruses off, but things still weren’t running as well as I thought they should… and the fear that I had totally ...