beyond the office

06/13/2024

I had a realization this morning while talking about fidgets with my 12 yo. I was talking about how I use them during meetings to keep my brain engaged and they help me sort out my words more effectively. I said “fidgets are like treadmills for the hamsters in my brain” and instantly I realized how true that statement was.

With ADHD, I often need something to listen to while I’m working to keep my brain foscused on what I’m trying to focus on. If you don’t have ADHD, I’m sure that sounds distracting as heck, but it’s been that way for me my entire life. Silence is distracting.

Since I can’t be listening to a show or music or a podcast during meetings, I’m much more prone to try to “multitask” so I don’t zone out - but this isn’t really helpful either. Having a fidget to play with in my hands is just the thing. And fidgets can be anything, really.

You see in the picture a koosh ball, a tiny turtle with a bobbing nose, a mini Rubics cube, and a stretchy thing that was used to hold a stack of divided trays together. That random stretchy thing is so satisfying to fidget with and allows my brain to focus better. There’s not right or wrong way to fidget. Use what works for you, as long as it’s not distracting to others.

04/25/2024

Came across a great article about accessibility concerns in your emails (especially marketing emails)

You can check it out at

Learn how to create accessible emails for a diverse audience with this complete email accessibility guide. Keep reading.

11/11/2023

Happy Veterans’ Day to all who served. Thank you for your service.

09/13/2023

I don't usually post things like this, but this one really made me mad.

I just received this phishing email attempt and it's good, so I'm sure they're going to get someone with this. I'm hoping that by sharing this, you won't be one of them.

The screenshot is from an email I received this morning that is supposedly from LastPass, but if you know what you look for, fake emails can be easy to spot.

Look at the sending email address - definitely not a LastPass domain. And the button doesn't link to a LP domain either (hover the mouse over any link and look in the bottom left corner to see where it goes - can't get a screenshot of that.)

I clicked on it, to see what happens. The link redirected to a good replica of the LP login screen at a different domain that includes the term "lastpass", but isn't actually there's. I tried entering a dummy email address and password (not for a real account). If I had used a real email address and password, the scammers would now have that information.

Don't fall for phishing emails. Do you due diligence when you get an email asking you to log in (especially to an account you never use and when you aren't expecting an email from them.)

I'll be writing a blog post about this with additional screenshots, but in the meantime - be careful.

08/25/2023

In National Harbor, MD for and spent some time sightseeing tonight. If you’re at say hi if you see me!

01/03/2023

It’s a . Met a friend for a drink and now we’re hatching plans for a new business collaboration. Never underestimate the power of ambitious women entrepreneurs (or a good margarita)

07/25/2022

The first day back from vacation is always a doozie…

And yes, I’m currently wading through tons of emails and my to-do list is growing by the minute, but these memes are too fun to pass by.

Which Little Miss are you feeling today?

06/28/2022

Helpful info if you’re using streaming music in your physical business, or in the background of your videos.

06/28/2022

That yellow thing there is the first flowers on my from-seed tomato plants, growing in a bucket in my yard.

What, you may be wondering, is this doing when I usually post stuff about business and websites.

I have wanted a garden since I moved into this house, 11 years ago. It never happened the way I wanted it to for one reason or another. So, I finally decided to let it happen a different way. A way that was doable for me. And now I have healthy plants growing.

Here’s why I’m posting this - we all have dreams and goals for our business. And there’s always roadblocks that come up in one way or another. But If we can be flexible in the path to our goals, we can get there eventually. Someone else may get there faster or first, but that doesn’t make your goal accomplishment any less real and worthy.

And yes, I just had this realization while taking a pic of my tomato flower and sharing it with friends.

Slow and steady counts too.

04/03/2022

I’m at the coffee shop this morning, so I’m listening to podcasts. And this is the first episode I picked and I’m so so so glad that I did.

Many of the things says about her journey to her diagnosis mirrors my own. I wrote about my ADHD journey a few months ago on my personal fb and an old acquaintance ended up reaching out to me and then pursuing her own diagnosis.

Here’s the thing. Having ADHD doesn’t mean you’re broken or wrong - it means your brain works differently. If you think you might have ADHD, I encourage you to reach out to a mental health professional to see what needs to be done.

(I am not a medical professional so this is not medical advice. If you message me asking for advice, I will just tell you to find a qualified medical professional.)

03/10/2022

Its Mario (Mar-10) day! I've enjoyed playing Mario games since I was a kid, and now I get to play them with my son. Take this day as a reminder that even when you're running a business, it's not all about work and you need to take some time out to enjoy the fun things.