It's not me... It's You

We all have those days... weeks, and maybe months. The times when you literally want to scream into your phone. (Maybe you yell after you hang up, like me.) It can stem from all kinds of things - overbearing workload, overbearing boss, incompetent coworkers, and irritating clients.

Often times we have to deal with those high-maintenence clients who truly believe that your entire job is to do whatever they ask, whenever they ask, however they ask. Without considering that maybe, as the professional in your field - you might actually know a thing or two and have a better idea, or a solution that might actually work for a change.

As you can probably imagine, I am currently in the midst of dealing with one of these oh-so-special clients. Are they a 'VIP' client? Nope. Not even close. In fact, they are supposed to be one of those get-it-done-fast-and-move-on clients. Sadly, they don't realize this. Instead, I spend my days respond to countless, incessant emails about mundane details that should not be an issue. Then the conference calls. Oh, the many conference calls. Ever heard the phrase "beating a dead horse"? They have conference calls to review what will be discussed on the next conference call, and conference calls to recap the last one. Seriously people? Maybe if you spent less time preparing for these conference calls, you would have time to do your jobs!

It's days/weeks/months like these that make you realize how easy it would be to "go postal" at work. Throw your computer out the window? Maybe throw some papers... less costly to clean up.

In all seriousness though, it's times like these when you truly realize just how serious you take work, and sometimes it's important to remind yourself that it's just work. Yes, it's important work, and yes it has to get done. But 30 years from now, will you remember that client? That annoying conference call? Probably not. You'll remember your family, the important things.

So, in honor of letting the little things go and focusing on the big stuff - what do you guys do to de-compress when work gets out of hand? OR... tell us all about the time YOU lost it and yelled at work, or threw your stapler.

Late-Summer Must Haves

An adorable tote in a fun, but not too summery color. Perfect for taking the pool, carrying on the boat, that will take you right into fall!

A cool hat for the beach on those lazy August days. A girl's got to protect herself from the sun!

Cute patterned shorts for all those late night bonfires and BBQ parties!
What's your favorite late-summer must have?

Confession

I have a confession to make... the reason I have been SO bad about posting lately is that I've been a little preoccupied. Corporate Chickee is going to be a Working Mom! I've definitely been preoccupied with the pregnancy so far and been slacking off on this blog. I apologize to my readers!

This change of events is likely to have an impact on my topics... probably to that of working mothers! I will be coming back after maternity leave full time, and that introduces a whole new host of struggles with balancing work and home!

In the meantime, I have a wonderfully supportive husband, and together we're working on getting the house ready for baby. We don't know yet if it's going to be a boy or a girl... but I'll share the news when we know it!

Now for the work-part! When it comes to telling work, it's a personal decision. The "rule of thumb" is to not tell anyone until after the first trimester, when risk of miscarriage is much lower. However - I personally would want my family and close friends to be there for me if the worst happened. So, we chose to tell family pretty quickly (around 6-8 weeks), and then started telling some of our really close friends around 10-11 weeks. Then, when week 13 rolled around, I stopped denying it at work.

I did fess up to my boss pretty early, after we told our families around week 8. I figured that I want my boss to know what I'm going through so that if I'm a little late one day, or not quite myself, she knows why. I also figured that if the worst happened, she would end up knowing anyways because I would probably miss some work. I'm SO glad I told my boss first - that eliminated the possibility of her finding out through the grapevine as the gossip mills started churning. Speaking of the gossip mills... your coworkers pay a lot closer attention to you than you think! A few of the things that tipped off my coworkers:

1. I wore flats one day. (I'm known for my sky-high heels around the office.) Apparently one pair of flip flops deems you knocked up!

2. My eating habits changed. Can't do much about this one... just interesting how much they notice! I ate McDonald's for lunch one day - even if it was just a Happy Meal... they noticed!

3. I looked "soft" around the midsection. Again... not much you can do hear, but sure glad I actually was pregnant and not just gaining weight!

4. I looked tired. Well, yeah, I was exhausted! But, never underestimate the value of "faking it". I could have tried harder to hide my exhaustion, but I didn't have the energy.

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to not suffer through weeks of morning sickness - which by the way, isn't necessarily in the morning! That would have been a surefire giveaway. So, my pregnancy advice to my fellow corporate chickees, if you do get knocked up, fess up to your boss early. Much better for them to hear it from you personally (even if it's a secret) than to hear it the through the grapevine and wonder about you for weeks!