Margret Sloan

There is such a flurry of excitement among the women here about the hottest new movie of the summer, Sex in the City. There are at least three parties based on the SITC theme this weekend and I can’t possibly attend them all but they do sound like fun.

One of the parties is being held at the new luxury condo high rise downtown as a fund raiser, and that one has peaked my interest. They are having a menu based on the movie, with chinese take out, bottomless cosmopolitans, and cheesecake. There will be a fashion show and a surprise guest appearance - so now I REALLY have an interest in going. It would be fun to have a girls night out and celebrate a fun new movie - I think I’m talking myself into it!

Condo life sometimes means putting up with little nuisances that you might not have to deal with in a single family home with a yard and good distance between neighbors.

Even though this condo development is upscale and the construction is high end, there can still be nights where the noise from your neighbor’s TV or sound system creeps into your bedroom and makes sleep difficult. I don’t have a garage band next door, but for some reason the neighbors like to listen to rock and roll ALL night. Now, I like rock and roll, but not at 3:00 in the morning when I’m trying to sleep.

So we’ve come up with a solution other than calling the police and filing noise complaints against the neighbors. We bought a little machine called Sleep Mate, which makes a nice little sound during the night called white noise and you don’t have to listen to that rock and roll or even hubby’s snoring anymore. I’ve known about White Noise Machines for years, but it wasn’t until we moved here that I needed it.

And to take the chill off in the morning, I bought a pair of foot cozy heated slippers from Vat 19 - the same site that sells the Sleep Mate. A good night’s sleep is a whole lot easier now, and getting up in the morning is just a little nicer, too.

I wanted to grill some chicken breasts tonight instead of the usual hamburgers or steak, but I couldn’t find any chicken marinade in the pantry. So I got the idea to use regualr Italian dressing. I just poured the dressing straight from the bottle into the Ziploc bag and let it marinade the chicken for about 20 minutes before tossing them on the grill. Wowie! They turned out great!

I fixed my cold pasta salad that I call “Green and White Pasta” and some garlic toast and we were all set. The Green and White Pasta is really easy, too. Just toss some small cooked shells with a handful of frozen baby peas and some bottled ranch dressing. If you like, you can add a little diced Vidalia onion, green pepper and celery - any or all of the three make a nice crunchy addition and keep within the green and white theme.

I don’t usually get excited about electronics gadgets, but I found something today that really rocks. This charger runs on solar power and will recharge all your portable electronics - everything from an iPod to a laptop to digital camera to MP3 players. This is so cool - you have to check it out. I found it on a website called EcoGeekLiving because I was looking for some ideas for greening up the house. I refuse to buy regular lightbulbs anymore and I know there are other great ways to save the environment by changing our habits at home.

Anyway, this awesome recharger is solar powered - as in free energy! -  and is called a power monkey explorer. It comes with all the adapters you need to recharge all your electronics using the sun. A fantastic gift for any of the geeks in your life, too. Let me know if you get one - I can’t wait for mine to get here!

They say that a well run business will appreciate its employees and value its clients or customers. One good, inexpensive way to demonstrate a company’s appreciation is the use of recognition programs. A good recognition program not only praises an employee for business achievements but also for personal milestones, such as birthdays, employment date anniversaries, and even encouragement during setbacks, such as serious illness or surgeries. Acknowledging these milestones or personal moments with a premium quality greeting card is the perfect way to express that you care and appreciate your employees.

Our Human Resources Manager ordered a collection of all occasion cards from gallerycollection.com and had them custom imprinted, but we also pass them them around to the rest of the staff for personal notes and signatures before presenting them with a flourish or small ceremony to the recipient. The Business Birthday Cards are a nice way to help celebrate employee and client birthdays. I also like that the envelopes are a classy, deckle-edged heavy stock, and they are made of recycled paper.