This edition brings you the fresh flavor of Spring, along with how the Birthday Reminder Service helped me again and what you should call the love of your life! Read on…

Spring is the time of vigor and vitality! This is that season of the year when you snap out of the drudgery of winter and look around with fresh eyes. We all know how the weather around us affects our mood. Spring brings with it a party spirit that is unique than any other that you have during winter or summer. That is why we were not surprised when Ryan tapped us through the ecard dashboard for a party at his pad.

Ryan explained to us that everyone has to make a contribution towards this party. He asked all of us to carry some vegetables of our choice. Apparently he has some secret recipe up his sleeve! He intends to cook all the assorted veggies together. This is one dish I have got to taste! After he explained the theme of this party, Ryan declared eloquently, “This is my welcome spring party! Everyone’s invited!”

Frank and Eleanor have volunteered to arrange for the birthday party of a close friend’s son. The elderly couple stepped up to the occasion because their friend is a single working mother and she wants to have something really special for her son’s fifth birthday. She knows Eleanor through Lisa, Eleanor’s daughter-in-law. When she made the request, Frank readily agreed to help Eleanor with the birthday arrangements.

It will be a theme party for the birthday. Eleanor and Frank have found out that the birthday boy is an avid football fan. The couple has decided to hold the party at a gymnastics studio where the kids can play with trampolines, along with football gear. Eleanor called me to bounce some birthday ideas with me and I found out that this was going to be one fun event! I made a note to call Frank and Eleanor on the birthday and congratulate them for organizing it for the kid. They are simply fabulous!

To add to the theme, Frank and Eleanor have sent out online invitations asking parents to dress the invited kids in sports jerseys! They will track RSVPs to streamline their arrangements. Way to go, Frank and Eleanor!

Are you in favor of calling your sweetheart with pet names? Anyone in love knows that it is very common for lovers to call each other with affectionate names like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’. I put across this question to some of my friends. Megan said, “I’m all for it! It makes the relationship more endearing.” Adrian agreed with her, “Surely the person has more importance than anyone else and that is reason enough to use a unique name!”

Cathy, Adrian’s soon-to-be wife, agreed but with a precondition. She felt that pet names were okay as long as they remained private. “You wouldn’t like your boyfriend to call you something like ‘Snookums’ when you’re in the company of colleagues!” Cathy signed off. I came to the conclusion that it all depends upon the people in the relationship. If they find that it attaches value and love, there’s no harm in using pet names.

Procrastination is something that we all have to deal with! When you stroll in to work on a Monday morning, you feel that you have to scale a skyscraper. You keep shifting the work to the next hour and at the same time, push your boundary to the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, in the middle of the day, you realize that the entire morning was a waste! The work load begins to grind your morale and you are unable to meet deadlines, much to the chagrin of your boss.

Donna has a solution that she offered to a colleague who faced the same problem. Donna advised her to break up his task into small units. He was asked to set small targets that coincided with this comfort breaks. “Don’t go to the cooler unless you finish something,” Donna explained, “Similarly, push lunch back by a while if you have not finished a task. This will keep you focused and you’ll continually back yourself to work harder.” You can try it too!

Here’s a Betty Bender quote to inspire you: “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”