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	<title>Desert Pond</title>
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	<link>http://www.desertpond.com</link>
	<description>....................Always wanted to write?  It&#039;s not too late.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:43:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Sewing Machines for Beginners</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/sewing-machines-for-beginners/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/sewing-machines-for-beginners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:43:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[And Working Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home ec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sewing machines for beginners]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When you're a mother of all boys, there are some topics and items you don't shop for much. One of those items would be sewing machines for beginners. There's not really a whole lot of sewing going on at my house. There used to be, though. I took home ec in high school. I've made my share of pillows. I think I even made a dress once. (Pretty sure I never actually WORE it, however.)]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/sewing-machines-for-beginners/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Good Management Practice – Create Alternatives</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/effective-management-skills/good-management-practice-create-alternatives/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/effective-management-skills/good-management-practice-create-alternatives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:44:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Petad</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Effective Management Skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alternatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decisions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[good management practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[manager]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=868</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Somewhere along the line I had read that being a manager means having to choose between a set of of alternatives, often with limited information. Yes sometimes that happens, but good management practice would suggest the best become experienced at creating additional alternatives and gaining additional information.  That is truly a skill of the most successful managers.

They are either adept through experience at seeing alternatives that subordinates and other do not see or creative at developing additional alternatives. Additional alternatives are sometimes the alternative answer to a problem, or the leverage to move the original problem to a more acceptable position.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/effective-management-skills/good-management-practice-create-alternatives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tax Advisers Can Be Wrong, Too</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/tax-advisers-wron/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/tax-advisers-wron/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:02:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Petad</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disposable income]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial advisers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax advisers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax refund]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=852</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As Tax time rolls around we get the same advice every year.”If you get a large refund you are not managing your money well”.  You know what?  Tax advisers can be wrong, too.
 
The mathematicians, the anally focused financial advisers, the tax accountants who are so proud that they can calculate the amount of their taxes to the nearest decimal point all rush to tell the rest of how to manage our money, how to maximize the return on our investment to the nearest nano of a percentage point. Technically, theoretically, as mathematicians they are right, and if you have excess disposable income and are not struggling paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet this argument may apply to you, but this position does not allow for the fact that we are people, we are not all the same and we are not perfect and we react to all the variables of our lives as needed at the moment. 
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/tax-advisers-wron/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How I Ended Up Buying a Motorola Droid</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/how-i-ended-up-buying-a-motorola-droid/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/how-i-ended-up-buying-a-motorola-droid/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[And Working Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[browser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cell phone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[droid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motorola droid]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=827</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here's the story of how I ended up buying a Motorola Droid even though I hung up on a sales person who tried to sell me one a few months ago and told the salesperson in the Verizon store last week that I thought it was highly unattractive. Now, I wouldn't trade it for any other phone.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hugging and Business &#8211; Why the Two Don&#8217;t Mix</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/hugging-and-business-why-the-two-dont-mix/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/hugging-and-business-why-the-two-dont-mix/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:27:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[And Working Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corner office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hugging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[negotiations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the final day with my employer approaches, there has been a lot of reminscing at work.  I've been with the same group of people for more than 10 years.  Today, we got into a discussion about hugging and business and why I think the two don't mix.

I know, you're saying, "Well, it seems kind of obvious why the two shouldn't go together.  Don't they teach you that in workplace harrassment classes?]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Goodbye Corporate Life</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/goodbye-corporate-life/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/goodbye-corporate-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:37:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quit job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work life balance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=813</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I'm saying goodbye to the corporate life. Maybe it will turn out to be a mistake. Maybe not. I really hope not, anyway. No matter what, though, I believe my work life quality is about to change.

I quit my job - a very nice, corporate job at a well-recognized and ages old organization with benefits and a corner office.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/goodbye-corporate-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>No Age Limit on Road Rage</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/start-writing-again/no-age-limit-on-road-rage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/start-writing-again/no-age-limit-on-road-rage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Start Writing Again]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[age]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[merge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minivan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[road rage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[young]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=808</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While attempting to enter a freeway from the service lane, a friend of mine experienced a most surprising incident of road rage.  Only after he told me his story did I realize that I am probably guilty of gauging the possibility of irritating the drivers near me to the point of danger purely by age.  The younger they are, the less likely I am to honk my horn or wave my hands in the air wildly as a sign that I think they just pulled a really, stupid move.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/start-writing-again/no-age-limit-on-road-rage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Robot Mop &#8211; My New Best Friend</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/robot-mop-my-new-best-friend/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/robot-mop-my-new-best-friend/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:31:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[And Working Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[floor washer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irobot roomba floor washer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[robot mop]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=801</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet my robot mop.  She's short and round and cleans my floors for free - 24/7,  if asked.  She never complains, has completely freed my back from having to sweep, vacuum and mop large amounts of tile floor, and sits quietly in the corner when not in use.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/robot-mop-my-new-best-friend/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shipping Container Houses &#8211; Really!</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:40:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Work Life Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outdoor office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shipping container houses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=798</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Shipping container houses.  Unbelievable.  What a neat concept, though, with tremendous environmental benefit!  I had never heard of these before but apparently the glut of shipping containers that have built up over time have presented a new building material and folks are making some incredible, modern, living and office spaces out of those old, used shipping containers.

I saw a few videos about these at a blog about shipping container homes.  The benefits seem pretty amazing.  You use used shipping containers so less wood is involved in the actual home construction (saving money) plus you're doing something good for the environment.  The containers are also incredibly strong since they were originally built to withstand the harsh environment during transport, and are resistant to many of the problems that plague traditional homes:  insects, mold, fire.  ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/work-life-quality/shipping-container-houses-really/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Reloadable Credit Cards &#8211; Checking Account of the Future</title>
		<link>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/reloadable-credit-cards-checking-account-of-the-future/</link>
		<comments>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/reloadable-credit-cards-checking-account-of-the-future/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:20:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EricaStone</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[And Working Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[checking account]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prepaid credit cards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reloadable credit card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reloadable credit cards]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.desertpond.com/?p=794</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know those reloadable credit cards that act almost like a real credit card with some minor differences?  What if that becomes how we manage our finances in the future?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.desertpond.com/and-working-mother/reloadable-credit-cards-checking-account-of-the-future/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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