Pinterest & Career Exploration!

Ok, I'm a total Pinterest addict. Is it just me or do minutes, HOURS just seem to go by browsing yummy recipes, beautiful pictures of architecture and distant lands, cute outfits, and fun crafty ideas?! It's totally addicting!

But here's a new thought - why not use Pinterest for professional growth and career exploration as well! Many college/university Career Centers are now creating Pinterest pages for a variety of reasons - check out ours at UC Berkeley!

I've even started a Career Counseling & Career Development board on my own page that I am adding career related images to - everything from pictures of professional interview attire, to career development process diagrams, to inspirational quotes.

I'd also like to share two helpful articles about this topic, both which highlight wonderful ways to use Pinterest for your own career.

My NCDA colleague Vera Chapman wrote this fantastic article in our recent issue of Career Convergence titled, "Using Pinterest to Make Career Development Learning Interesting to College Students". It's fantastic!

And just this morning I received a newsletter in my inbox from Green Career Central, which included an article about titled Tip of the Week: Want to Discover What You Love? Try a Pinterest Field Trip
Definitely worth reading!

Now we can all breath a sign of relief and feel less guilty about procrastinating on Pinterest or logging-in at work - because hey....it's helping your career! :)

My beautiful baby.....

is growing up into such a spunky, silly, independent, beautiful little woman! Oh how that warms my heart, yet scares me so! Kids grow up WAY too fast....sigh...

Oh Misty Moo!

And for the record, this was CLEAN, WARM laundry our 4th & youngest feline made into a cozy little bed. Thanks Misty! No wonder my clothes are always covered in cat hair. :)

Violet's 1st Birthday!

As you can probably tell I'm a bit behind on my blog....I've just been so busy lately, and both Zoey and I have been fighting off a cold this week. So I'm finally getting around to posting these pics from last weekend.

So last Saturday we attended Violet's 1st Birthday party with Matt, Haydee and friends. What fun! I loved Haydee's "photo booth" with lots of costumes and silly hats and masks. Happy early Birthday little V! :)

YES on Prop 30.....A Huge Success!

An open letter to the UC Berkeley campus from our Chancellor Robert Birgeneau:
Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

The passage of Proposition 30 in yesterday’s election is an important victory for public education in the State of California. I congratulate Governor Brown for putting Proposition 30 on the ballot and for his faith in the citizens of California to join together to support public higher education and to stem the tide of further funding cuts and tuition increases for this year.

I also want to congratulate our campus community who supported Proposition 30 and most especially our UC Berkeley students. Mary Catherine and I met many of you last evening while we were in the long line at the polling station in Unit 3.

Our students have demonstrated the power of meaningful and effective student activism by stepping up to campaign hard and register students to vote and to influence public perception of the importance of public higher education. Our ASUC and GA leaders, particularly Presidents Connor Landgraf and Bahar Navab, have shown outstanding leadership, working tirelessly to provide opportunities for Berkeley students to dialogue, to become informed on important issues and to communicate their views to others in the broader community.

While Proposition 30 is not a panacea and we continue to face serious budgetary challenges, it represents a very welcome respite from the recent spate of deep budget cuts. We look forward to having a firm budget for the remainder of this academic year. Although we will continue to face challenges as the costs of higher education inevitably rise, we have a more stable budget environment in which to focus our efforts on strategies for strengthening Access and Excellence at UC Berkeley in the coming year and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor

Potty Training....CHECK! :)

David and I are VERY proud and excited to announce that our darling little Zoey is POTTY TRAINED! After months of regular encouragement, mini celebrations in the bathroom, and slow progress with her use of the potty, Zoey is now a big girl with big girls panties. I can't even explain how relived I feel to know that my poppy diaper changing days are behind me! CONGRATS Zoey! Now we just gotta work on holding it through the night....but I see that as a normal challenge that will also come in time. I'm one happy momma! :)

And as a reward for her big milestone, Lil Miss now has an authentic Jessie Doll....pull string and all. YEE HAW! I am so glad the star chart concept worked to motivate Z, and she got her Jessie after having no accidents for 7 whole days. My favorite line that Jessie says is...."Blast us to smithereens.....that there's dynamite!" hehe

Zoey and the Wizard of Oz... :)

We recently let Zoey watch the Wizard of Oz for the first time and this is the result.....HAHA! Needless to say she loves it and has been singing the songs every since. Too cute! Glad that one of my fave movies is also a hit with my daughter, and a family tradition is carried on. :)

Our goofy little family....

Oh how we love each other, and how we love being silly! :)

The Only Constant is Change....

Love this! While everyone deals with change in their own way, nobody can ignore that fact that constant personal and professional change is our "new normal". Our identities around career, family, and person-hood are so complex and ever evolving in our world today. This video by Baratunde Thurston speaks to that point so eloquently. Embrace yourself for change....and enjoy!