Sisterhood...

Myself & some of the lovely ladies I consider my 'sisters'
at my Halloweenie Roast Masquerade.

My work life has been less than rosy lately. I work with mostly women who are so completely different than me in every way, shape and form imaginable. They're skinny and polished with perfect hair and make-up. They don't mind making fun of people over lunch on Fridays, read chick lit obsessively, and they think people like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are the be-all, end-all of music.

I've always been a curvy girl with glasses. I'm not perfect, but if I don't have something nice to say I generally keep my mouth shut. I listen to bands most of these girls have never heard of and read nonfiction book on topics like the Columbine shootings and the founding of Rolling Stone magazine to educate myself on topics I'm interested in.

To say I don't really fit in is an understatement at this point. And lately, the gap between 'me and them' seems to grow wider. On top of it all, instead of feeling like we're all working towards one common goal, I constantly feel like I'm working with people who are scared you're trying to steal their success rather than help them be successful - a viewpoint I just don't understand. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to please them.

And it's slowly killing me - which is why tonight was such a blessing.

Top 10 songs of 2011

weheartit.com

My favorite former Austinites, Mel & Luis, are hosting a dinner party tomorrow night to celebrate the end of Mel's law school semester. For Luis and I, parties are always a great excuse to create a playlist. He texted me this afternoon asking me to pick my top 10 favorite songs with a few contingencies:

1. Only 10 songs. No more, no less.
2. Each song MUST have been released in 2011.
3. Each song must be from a different artist.

No problem! I thought. This will be easy and fun.

Well, I got the fun part right. Easy was a whole other story...

Thanksgiving 2011's Good Eats

I feel like I blinked, and Thanksgiving is already over. Heck, November is already over too. I was just putting away all my Halloween decorations, and now it's time to get down to business with Christmas shopping.

I was excited for this year's Thanksgiving too - for the first time ever, I was allowed to play a small part in making the turkey. Actually, I can't even say making since I only did about a third of the work - more like, I got to help flavor the turkey, courtesy of my Food Network husband's brining recipe:

Social media vacation

weheartit.com

I'm a bit of a media junkie. It comes with the territory when you work in the media industry - it's an unspoken job requirement to have a 'nose for news.' I remember sitting at the dinner table growing up, asking my dad the most random questions like "How is mustard made?" because I wanted needed to know. I've always wanted to be in the know. I've always been interested in learning how the world works and why people live their lives the way they do.

So when major news happens, you can pretty much guarantee I'll be glued to a television or computer screen, anxious to know the latest details. The only thing I clearly remember about the week following Sept. 11, 2001 is racing home every day after school and flipping on the news - the TV didn't go off until I had to go to bed. When Hurricane Ike hit Houston while I lived in Oklahoma, I was glued to cable news coverage and live streams of local newscasts online.

Needless to say, social media is kind of a dream come true for someone like me. Constant streams of information about any topic I could possible desire to be updated on? Yes, please!

Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout

Katie Couric at the Girl Scout National Convention.

Fulfilling, gratifying and inspiring only scratch the surface on what this past weekend was like for me. Starting last Thursday at noon, I spent three straight days at the George R. Brown Convention Center (it felt like I was living there, seriously) volunteering at the Girl Scouts' 52nd National Convention - and it was the best experience I've had in a long time.

I'm a lifelong Girl Scout. I joined at age five. I became a lifetime member the year I graduated from high school. I've worked for my home Council multiple times - two summers as a counselor, one year in their communications department. I never considered myself a gung-ho Girl Scout growing up because I didn't earn every last award or want to go camping constantly...but looking back, I guess I am. I really love the organization and the leadership it teaches girls, and I will tell anyone who will listen that Girl Scouting is awesome.