by Solange Lopes | Nov 23, 2016 | Working Mom & Woman Tips
Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, or attending a Thanksgiving family gathering, you know that this time of year always gets busy. Which also means any help you can get is more than welcome, especially when you’re running around at the last minute trying to make the traditional family dessert, or figure out how to entertain your guests…
This is where technology, especially apps, come in to play. As a busy working woman, you can now use that smartphone you’re carrying around everywhere as a virtual Thanksgiving assistant. Here are 7 apps you can use to pull off the best, and most stress-free, Thanksgiving ever:
This free app will help you plan you your Thanksgiving Day menu in a swipe, or find amazing recipes to make and bring to any gathering. From meats to desserts to side dishes, you can find a large selection of delicious recipes to try. If you’d rather go by theme, then you can check out the menu section for recipe ideas grouped under Southern or Modern dishes for instance.
Here’s another free app that collects all the great recipes from your favorite Food Network stars. Even better, it has a whole section for Thanksgiving, including meal plans from renowned chefs like Giada, Sunny Anderson and Bobby Flay. Video tutorials are even included, and there’s even a section for leftovers!
Not sure which wine to pair with which Thanksgiving food? There’s an app for that, and it’s called Hello Vino. The app suggests different types of wines for different types of Thanksgiving foods, including turkey, ham and even side dishes.
Worried about making lasting memories of this Thanksgiving? Try this free app, which offers 15 cute holiday-themed photo frames to place in your pictures. It’s a wonderful way to make lasting memories, while impressing your guests in the same token…
Happy Thanksgiving Holiday Decoration Ideas
Running out of ideas to decorate your home for Thanksgiving? There’s an app for that. With more than 20,000 pictures to inspire you, you can turn your home into a holiday-themed abode in no time.
Is your family more into going out to eat for Thanksgiving? No problem. This free app helps you not only reserve and manage restaurant reservations, but also have access to hotels all around the world. You can turn this whole holiday thing into a delicious getaway in no time! Bonus: the app provide you with rewards too!
Want to send someone a Thanksgiving card? This app has plenty of choices to pick from. You can now send a quick card to anyone to remind them you’re thinking of them on the holidays…
Which Thanksgiving apps have you been using?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Nov 26, 2014 | Career
Relax Lite app – Photo: https://play.google.com
Ok, we all know Thanksgiving, this great time of the year to be thankful and reunited with your entire family can also be a time of gritting your teeth through your least favorite relatives’ not so funny jokes, and waiting to exhale, literally…Speaking of breathing free of annoying relatives, there’s an app for that! It’s called Relax Lite, and is meant to have breathe in and out with the help of soothing sounds and animations.
Whether you’re doubled over from heartburns, or trying hard not to punch any of your in-laws, this app can save your stomach and sanity all in one…By the way, it’s available on iOs and Android, free!
Did I say Happy Thanksgiving?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Nov 24, 2014 | Career
Thanksgiving gift – Photo: freeinternetpictures.com
Thanksgiving is here, literally, and while we’re running around trying to fix last minute menus and meet work deadlines,a minority of employers may be offering late November gifts, also known as Thanksgiving gifts ! While one-third of employers will require their employees to work this holiday season (which will not exactly be more conducive to an attitude of gratitude), they may also be distributing turkeys, gift certificates, and luncheons to thank their employees for their commitment…
However, very few employers and offices altogether do this for employees. Similarly, the practice of giving each other Thanksgiving gifts at work hardly happens any more.
So what do you think? Is the Thanksgiving gift-giving practice dead?
My $0.05:While I’ve had managers who were keen on giving small gifts to their teams at Thanksgiving and Christmas, this was more of a personal incentive from these managers than a company-wide practice. Times have definitely changed, and while gift-giving at Thanksgiving and during the holidays can make a dent in the annual budget, it can also be a great source of motivation (and even loyalty) for employees…hint, hint!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Nov 24, 2014 | Working Mom & Woman Tips
It’s the countdown to Thanksgiving! Menus are being planned, families are getting ready to gather, some for better, others for worse, and we’re all ready to go ahead and think of those people, events and things we are thankful for (and those we have other, much less thankful words, about…but I digress again…). All in all, Thanksgiving is like this scheduled positive time in your life when you’re expected to say thanks. And considering the bad rap this generation gets, taking a grateful pause makes us all look (and feel) better…
Plus your career may thank you too, what with complaints about the unstable economy (which by the way is much better than advertised), the gender pay gap, and what have you…Not to mention the fact that being thankful can keep you healthy, boost your morale, and prevent you from throwing a sharp object at your boss…Besides, the simple act of saying thank you at work has the power, according to research by Susan Quandt, to help you overcome career roadblocks with the sheer power of optimism:
- Write down what you’re grateful for: Start a gratitude journal, and motivate yourself to find something, someone, anything you’re grateful for…every day, even on Mondays!
- Thank 5 people at work this week: I know, some of you may read this, and think “shoo, I don’t even like five people at work”. Well, try! Whether it be thanking the janitor for keeping the toilets clean, or the cafeteria help for putting up with your constant lack of change, or your manager for skipping this week’s one-on-one, find 5 people, say thank you, and treat yourself to ice cream (or shoes) later!
- Give someone a career boost: If someone has helped you at work, or has been a great resource professionally, don’t just keep it to yourself! Spread the word, tell their managers, give them brownie points on the company’s Intranet, and help boost someone else’s, other than yours, career. It’s the small things, and they pay off…
How are you being thankful at work this week?
The Corporate Sis.
by Dorcia Carrillo | Nov 22, 2013 | Working Mom & Woman Tips
Chances are you are hosting Thanksgiving this year again, what with your usual workload, last week’s laundry still on stand-by, house-cleaning still pending, and your to-do list untouched as of yet…And you have not yet checked in with everyone to see what they are bringing, you still have to call your mom for her famous turkey recipe, and your hairdresser is booked until next Friday…What?!?
Or the entire family is gathering this year at your cousin’s this year, in which case you can breathe a sigh of relief. Except you still have to figure out what you’re bringing, what the kids are wearing, and how in the world you’ll fit in anything before or after the meal…And we’re not even talking about starting Christmas shopping, or how we’re going to even get anywhere close to a store on Black Friday…
As busy corporate sisters, we all know the holidays are also a hurried, even busier time of the year, and the single way to counter-balance all this madness is to have a plan…A sister with a plan is a sister on her way (the way up, not the other way)…
Write it down
Nothing like a visual aid to make it all real. So whether you’re doing the touch-tone thing on your smartphone, or like myself, you’re just digging out the old notebook and pencil, you’ve gotta write it all down…To-do’s, to-be-done, should-have-been-done, do-it-now’s, put it all on paper, look at it again…and reach for the nearest glass of wine! It ain’t real ’til it’s on paper, girl!
Use your lunch hour!
Yes, you heard right…this small alloted window of peace in the middle of your day is officially no more! Unless you are THE uber-organized corporate sister (or you just don’t believe in sleeping), take advantage of your lunch hour to make a few phone calls, check out some (quick and easy) recipes…and please, find a hairdresser before Wednesday…
Learn the art of delegating
The best leaders are great at delegating; and since you are honing your corporate skills, why not use your life as training ground…so get to delegating some of the shopping trips, and part of the prep work, and the key lime pie while you’re at it (it never came out quite right anyways) so you can have some time to figure out where you can get a last-minute turkey for the big day…
And yes, you can skimp on some details
Like baking the cakes from scratch, or even entertaining the thought of elaborate recipes..Browse the pre-made, pre-done, already-frozen aisles at the supermarket (the online supermarket counts too), and save yourself some pain and aggravation…And oh, invest in some slightly worn out baking pans and serving dishes, and don’t forget the key-lime pie scented candles too, the more homemade-looking, the better…
So there, as a corporate sister with a life and a plan, there is much to do as it is to make the holidays an even busier time…Plan, get help, and don’t forget to pour Aunt Martha more wine before she asks you if that pecan pie was store-bought or homemade…Really, Aunt Martha?
How are you counting down to Thanksgiving?
The Corporate Sister.
