Why are companies messing around with people's lives?

My husband works for a cellphone company that has an initiative to turn all of it's I/T jobs into contractor positions.  In fact, yesterday my husband's department all got the news that their full-time jobs end in April and IF they don't take the contractor positions offered (no matter what the money or benefits offered), they are out - and no compensation will be given.  Pretty amazing for a company who was on a list of "best places to work" not that long ago!

WHY is it that companies feel that it's a fine thing to do - to save a few bucks and screw with people's lives?  I understand that they are there to make money - but why can they not make money and still have semi-decent values that treat their employees like ... well... employees - a VALUABLE asset?

Companies pull this crap and then wonder why their work-quality suffers.  The products they provide then suffers...and they start cutting even more money.  Why can they not see that it's an ugly, vicious cycle?

Worst of all, is that they are truly playing god with people's lives....and they have no conscious, no guilt, and no shame about causing "regular" people HUGE problems.  Most people affected will be forced to look for new jobs (and that is not a good thing in our current economy).   Many of us will have to take the crap-sandwich that they are offering because we have no alternative... if we don't work, we lose our home.  Even if we do accept their offer, it's very likely that we will slowly lose our home because the salary offered, won't be enough to pay all of our bills.

It's sad that these companies are literally taking profits from screwing low-level employees.  I bet you dollars-to-doughnuts, that all the bigwigs aren't losing money (or jobs)!  In fact, it's probably the opposite - they'll have golden parachutes and receive very nice bonus's for screwing the lower level employees.

Has anyone noticed that the great American dream is dying or dead??  Work hard and get paid for it isn't happening any more.  Work hard and create a good life for you and your family is also dying fast.  Work hard and end up desperately in debt - how the hell did we end up with that option??

As for us, well - we'll be OK.  NO, we don't have enough money saved and YES, we have a lot (make that A LOT!!!) of debt.  But we have each-other, we have our faith, and we have hope.  You upper-management types should be ashamed for what you are doing to the people that work for you - and to our country's economy!!  But we'll be OK in spite of your best efforts to bring us to our knees.

Are You Excited About The Holidays?

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Christmas!  I love decorating for it.  I love baking for it.  I love all of the events surrounding it.  I love giving gifts (and yes, receiving them too).  And I love the reason for the season (Jesus).

It's such an emotional time - highs of fun times and memories, and lows of missing those who are no longer here to share with us.  Sometimes it's hard to get past the "should have's" and "could have's" to see the wonderful "do have's" that we should celebrate.  For instance, I often miss my mother at this time of year.  When I was younger, her house was always the family gathering place.  All of the extended family would come to our celebrations.  Without her, those gatherings are far more rare.  She never got to meet any of her grandchildren... truly one of my biggest heartaches.  I know she watches from heaven and smiles at them though, and I see her light shining through my daughter's eyes and the eyes of my niece and nephew.  So that's the celebration and joy that I cherish now.. my own family and the beauty of how life goes on.

It's so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas - "Did we get enough gifts?"  "Is our house decorated enough?"  "Have we seen all the holiday shows we wanted to?"  "Did we cook enough goodies to share and for ourselves?" -  I know our time from Thanksgiving through Christmas (and even through New Year's) will be filled with those thoughts and activities at our house.  And I love all of it... but I try very hard to remember the more important part (and it's hard to do!).  It is Jesus' birth we celebrate because it brought light into the world.  He provides hope and salvation - especially during the darkest times.  The love that we have for our families - especially our children, is nothing compared to the love that God shares with us.  His love is what I try to share with my friends and family, it's what I want my daughter to take with her as she grows into a lovely young lady.  And it's something I share for all of you!

From my family to yours - We hope you have a blessed and loving holiday season! 

When are hats going to come back in style on the west coast?

OK, I have a confession.  I am a closet hat-aholic!!  I LOVE hats!  I inherited my mom's hats (many of which are too small for my head) and my grandmother's hats (many of which are falling apart).  But I LOVE them all!!

About 10 years ago, I came up with a reason to wear a hat - and that is my annual high tea.  Once a year, all the ladies of my extended family (plus any friends that want to), are invited to join me for High Tea at some local, fancy-ish establishment (Around Seattle, we've tried the Sorento Hotel, the Fairmont, the Queen Mary, Elizabeth and Alexander's Tea Room, and the Tuscan Tea Room, plus a few places that are no longer in business).  All have their pluses and minuses - the best part is that no matter where we go, we get to wear hats!

We always swear that we will get together in the summer to do the High Tea and Hats thing then, but we never do.  SO I need to find some other reasons to wear hats (and I don't mean rain hats or snow hats!).   I hear that the ladies on the East Coast tend to wear hats more than we do here on the West Coast... what can I do to help hats come back in style??

I have been to a few art walks now and have started to see a few more headpieces that are more than a simple clip... but for the most part, there aren't many hats showing up.  I did run into a lovely lady named Heather.  She is making jewelry, fancy hair pieces, and some fabulous little hats that she called cocktail hats (I'd call them facinators - as in something the English royalty wore to Kate and William's wedding).   Here's the link to her site www.craftygrrlz.com - you should check it out if you get the chance!

I admire my daughter because she (and girls in her age group) has started wearing hats as part of their oh-so-stylish wardrobes.  Oh how I love that!!  Now, I just have to get a bit of style for myself so that I can figure out how to incorporate hats into my wardrobe too!