Salted Nutella Cookie Bars

When I ran across this recipe online, I knew I had to try it.

Here is my finished product.

Everyone who tried them loved them. They were easy to make as well. They would make a wonderful addition to a holiday party dessert table. Yum yum.

Control is important from an early age

Yesterday I was watching my 2 year old nephew while he played outside at our annual family Thanksgiving. He had a delightful time throwing rocks, sticks, and leaves into the pond from a small bridge above. Every once in a while, he would ask me "Go inside?". I would respond "We can go inside whenever you want". He would then go back to playing. He didn't want to go inside yet. He wanted to make sure that we would go when he was ready.

I was reminded of a very similar incident I had with his older sister when she was about the same age. I had taken her to play at the park on the way home from my mom's house. From time to time she would say "I want to go home." I would I say "Ok", and we would start walking toward my car. She would then say she wanted to play more, and we'd turn back around.

I believe my role as an aunt is to help my nieces and nephew grow to be strong, healthy, independent people. I cherish opportunities like these to show them that their views matter and that I am there to support them in any way I can. Small moments can have a big impact in shaping who we are.

Only in Government- Update #2

The internet in our office was messed up for nearly a month. Often times we got the "cannot display page" error, and when we didn't get that, it was super slow. They finally got that fixed, and now our phones and faxed are messed up again. We can't fax at all, and our phones work about half the time. The rest of the time, when we try to make or receive calls, there is nothing but dead air. It is a building-wide problem, and it supposedly lies at the feet of the internet provider. Anyone thinking this will be resolved quickly? Anyone?

Workplace Drama is Everywhere-Update

Organization X now has another ring in its circus. We found out last week that the HR person's suspension has become a termination.

You know your company is short staffed when...

My coworker's husband works for a local company that has a branch located 2 hours away. That location is a small warehouse with only 5 employees. They currently have 2 people on vacation, 2 sick, and the 5th out due to injury. So what are they going to do?  They are closing the office today and tomorrow. Yesterday my customer's husband drove up and staffed it. Did I mention he's the IT guy? He was pulling orders and loading delivery trucks with a forklift. That is a definite sign that your company is short staffed.

Perspective is an amazing thing

I was not looking forward to returning to work Tuesday after my recent vacation. Who does? But that all changed after I talked to a friend who still works at my former employer. After she gave me the scoop on several recent developments there, I practically skipped off to work Tuesday morning. I was so relieved to not be going back to something like that. It's amazing how perspective can influence one's attitude.

Workplace Drama is Everywhere

My company rents office space from Organization X. Their Executive Director got fired a couple weeks ago, their HR person got suspended yesterday, and they had no finance person at all for several weeks which lead to a major problem with their payroll. It's is definitely dysfunctional, but it's sure fun being on the outside looking in. In my last job I worked in HR, and I got to see all this up close and personal whether I wanted to or not. 

I have come to the conclusion that like families, every work environment is dysfunctional in some form or fashion. Organization X just seems to be especially blessed in this department.