Bring your kids to work day

Yesterday was Bring your kids to work day, and bring them I did. A, at 2 1/2 years old, is really too young for this kind of experience. Even at the kid-centric activities we attended (a gym class, pinata-making and photo shoot), she was overwhelmed by the chaos and clingy. Good thing Josh picked her up at lunch time to take her home for her nap.

Z stayed all day, had a blast and impressed the hell out of everyone with her smarts and poise. She even sat through a 90 minute shopper marketing briefing (taking notes and coloring) and entertained herself by playing Dreambox on my computer when I had to leave my office to go present over a conference call.

Here she is enjoying a Coke float (yes, they're a client).

When told she was in a conference room with 6 real artists and shopper marketing specialists, she said "I'm a good artist too. I can draw a store environment." And then she drew this. An end cap. With adjacencies!

Hey, hey it's an office

For the first time in my professional life, I have an honest-to-goodness office. The kind with a window and a door. Yes this milestone came 2 years after I quit pumping at work (when it would have been really convenient), but I am thrilled nonetheless.

While my quarters are among the smallest on the 2oth floor, it is well situated. The southern exposure keeps it warm and its proximity to the "kitchen" means I get to see all of my colleagues (and smell their microwaved lunches) all day long.

I am also approximately 20 paces from the (all-you-can-drink) Barq's root beer fountain. Not sure yet if this counts as a good thing.

Now I need to shop for some large-but-inexpensive art for the 8X10 foot empty white wall I face...

On the road again...

Hello from not-sunny, kind of cold Los Angeles, where I'm helping conduct some in-home consumer research--in Spanish. Yes, with an interpreter.

I'm staying at the swanky Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, which helps make up for the fact that my entire days are spent in a car or sitting on someone's uncomfortable kitchen chair.

Have you seen my A Few Things I'd Like to Bring Home from Australia post over at the Chicago Moms Blog?

Random (happy) updates

Tonight I'm hosting a Fall Clothing Swap. You may recall I did this for the first time back in the Spring and it was a roaring success. Should be even more fun now that a) I know what I'm doing and b) I'm bringing in a woman to do mani-pedis! Now before you think I've gone all Hollywood starlet on you, I'm not paying for people to get their nails done--but $30 for both when all your shopping and drinking is free is a damned good deal, and my friends seem to recognize that.

Yesterday my agency team (about 60 of us) had an outing/party at the Art Institute's stunning new Modern Wing. I was stuffed from my Bin 36 burger lunch, so I didn't pig out on the cheese and nut platter like I normally would have, but the combination of fine contemporary art and wonderful colleagues made for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and evening. I went home all happy, warm and tingly in spite of the wet, cold weather. Happiness equals a few glasses of wine, hearing that one lovely co-worker is pregnant and another is hoping to be soon, and being paid the world's nicest compliment.

Which, in case you were wondering is "You're beautiful." Followed by 5 minutes of expounding and reiterating the hows and ways of your beauty by a tipsy, good-looking gay man who's also a freaking creative genius.

In other awesome news, we're finally replacing our peeling, dull orange laminate countertops with granite, installing a subway tile backsplash and getting a new kitchen sink and faucet.

And I made it to the gym 5 times in the last 2 weeks. That's about 5 times more than I did the entire previous month. I'm on a roll, people!

My work is in the news today

For the last few months, I've been working on the marketing activation for Procter and Gamble's U.S. Olympic Team sponsorship, and I'm thrilled to see my work getting mentioned in publications around the company, including the New York Times!

Check out this quote from Sports Business Daily, which calls out the theme line I wrote.

The company will support the deal with advertising on NBC during the '10 Vancouver Games using the theme "Look Like the World is Watching" to promote its beauty products. The theme is designed to draw a parallel between the performance qualities of beauty products like Olay, which can help women look their best, in the same way the performance abilities of Olympians help those athletes look their best before the world. P+G is in final negotiations with a number of female athletes who will be used in the campaign. In addition to the commercials, the company also will activate at retail. Those plans are in development, but Perry said, "We will be loud and proud with the participating brands whether it will be packaging or multi-brand, in-store displays."

Hopefully I'll make it to NYC for an athlete photoshoot later this month. Don't know yet if I'll get to go to the Games in Vancouver, but a girl can hope! Regardless, you'll be seeing my team's work in magazines and stores across the country in February. Have I mentioned how much I love my team? Because I do. I'm really lucky to work with such great, talented people.

On the road again

I had a few hours to myself this morning since I overnighted in Cincinnati for an afternoon presentation. I used the time to study Hebrew and write this blog post about how my brief love affair with Twitter has fizzled. Minutes after I filed the post, it was up and picked up for syndication. Look for it this week in a small town newspaper near you.

As any mom who travels for work can tell you, the guilt over being gone is tempered by the comfort of having a hotel bed all to yourself and enjoying a shower and a cup of coffee without having to wipe anyone's butt or dispense Cheerios and juice.

Still, I felt a little extra guilt this morning when I rolled out from under 6 pillows and a goose down duvet to this email from Josh:

I woke up to the pitter patter of little feet. Zoe hops into bed - "scared" - and I lean over to the clock to see how much time I have left. It's only 12:05! So I tell Zoe it's too early for the big bed and tuck her back into her bed, where she goes back to sleep. I go to the bathroom and then back to bed. I'm woken up by the sound of Ada chanting "Mommy, up," which escalates until she's yelling for either of us. I check the clock: 12:25! I go in to her room, pat her, and put her down for bed. She screams for another ten minutes, then at 12:40 or I so I go in there to put her to bed again. She's tossed all the stuff out of her crib, but I re-pacify her and put her to bed. She screams again until 1:15, at which point I relent and take her to the big bed. She squirms and kicks on my chest until 2:00, so I give up, frustrated, and put her back in her crib. She screams until close to 3:00, when I grab her and take her to the big bed again. This time she and I fall asleep, and the only reason I know that is that somewhere around 5:30 she falls out of bed and wakes me up crying. She's fine, but Zoe rushes in to see what happens, hops in the big bed, and we all "rest" until 6:30, when we all get up.

On top of the world in New York, New York

I didn't think I'd be back in NYC so soon, but thanks to a two day brainstorm for work with the lovely folks from Taylor PR, I've gotten to squeeze a little more juice from the Big Apple. Just between 6 and 1 last night, I saw the view from the top of the Empire State Building (we even went above the public viewing deck to the tippy-tip-top) and hang out with the beautiful people on the rooftop deck of the Gansevoort, where there was a party going on in honor of author and Congressional candidate Kevin Powell. You might remember him from the original Real World back in 1992.

But the real highlight of last night was dinner. We showed up what appeared to be a basic, if bustling corner taqueria, but we were ushered down a secret stairway and through the kitchen to an underground restaurant and bar where we had a fabulous dinner of tacquitoes, tostadas, corn on the cob, chorizo empanadas and ceviche.

Incidentally, I am not that enamored of the Gansevoort. For all its sleek European chic and beautiful, Parliament-smoking European clientele, the keycards don't always work and the soft-boiled eggs on my room service tray are unambiguously hard boiled.

We're like a secret tribe

Since I started at my current agency, two of my fellow P&G creatives started personal blogs. I'm going to go ahead and take some credit for that. Megan Boley started MegaGood, a beautifully photographed site that celebrates good food, great design, the beauty of our city and the loveliness of being a newlywed with no kids. Seriously, I think she and her husband eat waffle breakfasts in their beautifully made-up bed--with their cats--every day.

Bobbi Bowers is an even more recent addition to El Blogosphere, and I was thrilled that she discovered my copy room commentary and submitted it to Failblog! It was so meta to see my handwriting on her blog while I'm out of the office.

Online dating, vicariously

One of my beautiful, single co-workers just joined an online dating site and watching her peruse her so-called "matches" before dumping loser after weirdo in the "fizzle" bin just might be the most fun way to waste time at work ever.

Bleeding red and seeing purple

Facebook is more than a just a virtual watercooler; it's like the corner bar where old colleagues can gather to hear the gossip and say goodbyes. And it's where I heard a lot of sad news coming from my old employer, Ogilvy. It seems at least 6 of my former co-workers got laid off today as Big Red bled off 10 percent of its workforce. I've know so many people who've lost their jobs in the past 6 months I've lost track.

It's a very tough economy in which to find yourself jobless, and I'm feeling so thankful right now to have a job. And one I really enjoy at that.

If you know of any agencies looking for copywriters, art directors, creative directors or planners, I'm LinkedIn with a bunch of superstars.

Speaking of jobs, do me a big favor and watch the People's Choice Awards Wednesday night at 9/8c on CBS. I've been working hard on the CVS/CoverGirl program integration, a surprise makeover that will happen backstage during the broadcast. And if you can't stay up to see the whole show, go to CVS and check out the beauty department for our People's Choice Awards displays and coupon booklets.

My first day on the job

After spending the whole morning in a very thorough orientation with 10 fellow newbies, I got to spend a brief 45 minutes with my manager. She apologized profusely for not being able to take me out on a first day lunch as instructed by HR, but she did have a plane to catch. Since she and a few other team members will be traveling until Thursday, I've got a couple of days to familiarize myself with the office (we're spread out on multiple floors and there are at least two elevator banks) and the technology (always a treat).

But you don't want to hear about the good stuff. About how close my new gig is to the Blue Line stop and how I don't have to go outside to buy lunch or go to the bank. You don't want to know about the cheap private gym across the street and the lunchtime Pilates classes that are going to kick my butt into shape.

No, you'd rather hear about how I asked 5 different people where the mother's room was and they all said "We don't have one," even though I'd been assured at least two exist. Finally, reception pointed me to a small room 9 floors up marked "family resources" where I pumped in an armchair and hoped no one barged in (there was no lock on the door). There also wasn't a sink in the room, so I tucked my milky "horns" under my arm and figured I'd rinse them in a nearby ladies' room. Which I circled the floor twice trying to find! I'm just glad I don't know anyone who sits up there!

Then, at 2:15 I finally got a chance to grab lunch. I headed downstairs to a little sandwich shop and they must have misplaced my order because I waited over 10 minutes as everyone who'd lined up behind me picked up their food.

After those minor debacles, though, it's been smooth sailing. I spent the afternoon familiarizing myself with the work with one of my teammates and I'm actually excited about getting down to business.

Today I gave my notice

This morning I resigned from the agency where I've spent the last 7 1/2 years. I started here as a copywriter and I'm leaving as an Associate Creative Director. I've learned a lot, worked on wide variety of businesses and made great friends.

Leaving is bittersweet, but it's time to move on. I've been given an opportunity to work on brands that excite me and become an expert in a rapidly emerging field of marketing at another agency in Chicago.

I'm energized.
And terrified.
But I'm confident this change is good.

And since this is only the second job change I've made in my adult life, I'm curious: how long did it take for you to feel competent at a new job?

I saw my colleague kissing Santa Claus

Top three ways Marketing Mommy knows the holidays have arrived at work...

1. Fattening food gifts begin arriving from photographers, sound studios, photo retouchers and other vendors. And 99 percent of the goodies goes to art directors.
2. No one's at work. Even though the whole agency shuts down from December 21-January 2, half of my coworkers will be out next week.
3. The agency's youngest, singlest girls don Santa hats and push a drink cart around the agency. Have a mudslide and benefit the Off the Street Club. How's that for guilt-free indulgence?

Back to work

Returning to the office after a four month maternity leave was a piece of cake.

Probably because there wasn't any real work for me to do. I begged IT to help me crack the passwords on my new iMac, attended to informational meetings, raided the office supply closet for pens, pencils and staples, said hello to a bunch of people (3 of whom are pregnant!) and pumped 12 ounces of milk. Not exactly a model of productivity, but the day went by in a flash.

The agency is in the midst of a massive reorganization, so I don't know who I will be working for what I'll be working on. Apparently everyone will know more by week's end.

When mama's happy, her employer makes money

According to MSNBC, more and more companies are bending over backwards to accommodate (and retain) the best and brightest as they bring babies into the world. And the most encouraging thing about benefits like lactation rooms, breastfeeding support and on-site daycare: these perks end up improving the company's bottom line.

Working Mommy guilt

I got home from work tonight at 8:30pm. I was helping put the finishing touches on a new business pitch, so there wasn't much I could do to get out of there any earlier, but like every working mother out there, I still felt pulled in two.

The Mommy: "Before you left for work this morning, your daughter said, 'No want Mommy go work. I want Mommy stay here wif me.'
The Marketer: "You have to work to take care of your daughter. You're the breadwinner, the provider of health, dental and vision care. Besides, you're setting a good example for her. The accomplished career woman. And one who enjoys her work!"
The Mommy: "You didn't give her a bath. You didn't read her a story. You weren't there to tuck her into bed."
The Marketer: "But you make it home in time to do all of those things 90-95 percent of the time. Tonight was the exception, not the rule."
The Mommy: "Children need your time most of all."
The Marketer: "I know. But I'm doing the best I can. At least I feel like my efforts contributed to a kick-ass pitch presentation. Not that I'll be there to see it. It's scheduled for Yom Kippur."