Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas - To Friends of Both Political Parties

A dear friend of mine, okay, Eric Doggett, passed this along to me and I couldn't help but share it with my friends as well.

To All My Democratic Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of their wish.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Help Me Show The Mo - Mo Love!

I've joined Movember.

Never heard of Movember? I hadn't either until a few weeks ago, just after Charles' Prostatectomy.

Take a peek at the below video to learn more about this great cause, which raises funds to fight cancers that affect men and proceeds will go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Lance Armstrong's Foundation Livestrong.



To make a donation, you can either:

• Click this link Kim Hollenshead Mo Donation Page and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account, or
• Write a check payable to "Movember Foundation™", referencing my Registration Number 259 and mailing it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726

All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

• The Prostate Cancer Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

• The Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund:
•The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance program
•Research initiatives to further understand the biology of adolescent and young adult cancers.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please go to Movember's Gift.

Our Life After Three Words - You Have Cancer

Earlier this summer my husband, Charles, went to his doctor for a check up. He hadn't been to see a doctor in a number of years. I tend to believe that most men aren't the best at seeking medical attention or at least routine physicals. Yes, I know that's a far reaching statement, but true from the men in my life.

In a series of appointments with his M.D., Shane Keller of Pflugerville, TX, which also included him running a PSA exam they found that there were a few things that warranted further investigation. His doctor scheduled a follow up appointment with a urologist.

I went with Charles to his urology appointment as he needed a driver to take him home afterwards. I hadn't realized that the next followup appointment to gather test results was an in person appointment until the night before.

So on Monday, September 21, 2009 away we went. Charles in his Army Chevy Blazer and me in my car. We were ushered into the room furthest from the front door. I'm not sure why I paid attention to what room we were in other than we kept walking until we couldn't walk any further. Our conversation in that far room was chipper. It was still rather early in the day, I think about 9 or 9:30 am. I noticed a sperm bank brochure and we jokingly talked about it.

Then in walked his urologist, Dr. Sandeep Mistry. Niceties were exchanged. Hello. Good to see you. The usual. Then Dr. Mistry sat down.

The next words were the most impactful. "Well, you have cancer and a lot of it," Dr. Mistry solemnly stated.

Shocked. It was one of those surreal moments. The story you've heard from anyone else diagnosed with cancer was just the same for us. We never thought we'd hear those words. I know Charles never thought he'd hear those words.

In a matter of seconds, we were sitting eyes and ears wide open and fully engaged. I know several people think Dr. Mistry'sstraight forward approach seemed awkward. I on the other hand feel it was the best response we could have had.

My degree was in journalism and I fully recall writing obituaries for a couple of days and we were taught that they should always be written as a matter of fact. Sally Smith died. George Williamson died. They didn't pass away gloriously from this life . . . Factual. Nothing more, nothing less.

We must have spent a good 30-45 minutes listening to Dr. Mistry and asking a few questions that immediately came to mind. Charles and I left the appointment, hugged and went our separate ways. As I drove away I realized I was definitely out of sorts and work was the furthest thing from my mind. I called to check on Charles and he became teary. I told him I would stop by my office to let my manager know that I wouldn't be in that day and that I would meet him back at home.

We spent the rest of the day together, thinking out loud, asking questions, and conversing about the enormity that we had been dealt.

Over the last month we had another appointment with Dr. Mistry after we had time to gather questions and speak with friends and family. All of whom were incredibly supportive and gave us amazing advice. I think reaching out to our family and social networks has been amazing.

In particular to me, I really valued my CEO, Andy Kershner, putting me in touch with his personal friends who helped ease my thoughts on if we had chosen the right doctor to perform the surgery and they gave Dr. Mistry a big two thumbs up. Yay!

Charles too had many of his friends from social online boards he's been on for years reach out to him from around the world.

We married in May of this year and although Charles has a 19 year old son, Jareck and a 11 year old daughter from previous relationships, I at 42 have never had children, but would very much like to experience motherhood. So, we've also had appointments with the Texas Fertility Center, gone to one of their seminars on In Vitro Fertilization and banked future babies. Yes, we're at a point of light-heartedness at this point in our journey.

Early tomorrow morning we will arrive at the Seton Medical Center Williamson and Charles will have a Robotic Prostatectomy. His father had a prostatectomy over a decade ago and we know that the procedure is much less evasive than his father's and with much less scaring, less down time and less blood loss. We know that Dr. Mistry has an amazing track record in successful surgeries.

But beyond all of that I know that our family and friends have poured many prayers over his condition. I know that I serve an amazing God who still works healing miracles today and has laid His hands on my husband and promised him a long and healthy life. I know that his surgery is simply another part of our story as a couple. I know that when I said I do there were vows that went something like . . . in sickness and in health . . .

Thanks to each of you who are walking this part of our journey with us and supporting our steps. We love you!

Canadian Cheese Soup Hits The Spot

Cooler weather has hit Central Texas sooner than most Octobers and it has me in the mood to cook and bake and make soup!

I made my all time favorite, in fact I think it's the only soup I actually make - not one I reheat from a can, last week and messaged about it in Twitter and Facebook and had a few requests for the recipe. I had a feeling that there might be others that would also enjoy its yumminess.

Thanks to Momma Marian who shared it with my family probably over 20 years ago now.

Canadian Cheese Soup

1/4 onion
2 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots grated
1 qt (2 14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
3/4 lb Velvetta cheese
1/2 stick butter
1/4 c flour
5 oz evaporated milk
5 oz water

Saute veggies in butter. Add flour and stir. Stir in broth. Simmer on low temperature for 1 hour. Add milk, water and cheese. Stir over low heat until melted. Serves 4.

Momma Marian commented on my post of making it over the last few days and said she added it on top of broccoli recently. She also indicated serving it with Oyster Crackers when she originally shared it.

Personally, I don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier, but I think I'm going to add some bacon to it next time. Wowza!

Oh, it's probably not the healthiest thing you'll enjoy this winter.

Where HR Lives

For me of late I feel like I've been living at my office. Our organization, like so many across the nation has been hit by troubling financials. I work for a day-trading firm and because of what they do they do better when the stock market is acting crazy as opposed to staying calm.

Meanwhile, in my rather back office work which is Human Resources (HR), I don't know if I've ever been busier.

Aside from a number of projects that were in play for a number of months that are all coming to a head in the next couple of weeks, I'm not sure that most employees always understand all the things that their HR department does either in the hiring process or the firing / laying off / disassociating of employees. There's a TON to do.

HR is the keeper of all things legal, often times the organizer of all things fun, the listener of both the good and the bad, a guide to executive management in important decisions and holder together of much. Sometimes a bit daunting if I do say so myself.

But, I love it. I love the idea that I'm here to help people and our company. Even exhausted and out of breath, I'm thrilled that I'm working in the capacity that fulfills me the most.

Welcoming Family Back After Loss

I've attended Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas since I was in college at what is now Texas State back in the early 90s. When I moved to Austin in 1997 I never church shopped, but simply made Shoreline my church home.

One of the first few Sundays I was there I approached Pastor Laura Koke and told her that I was new to Austin, new to the church and ready to serve where she needed me. A week or so later I got a call asking if I could babysit her three kiddos. Of course. Seemed an easy enough request.

Over the next decade I was called on whenever they needed me. Pastor Rob and Laura's kiddos grew up during that time and I found my self moving away from Austin a couple of times, but every time I moved back I was ready at their becon call. They became an extension of my family. Their kids - my kids, even if it was for a few hours as their parents made the most of a well deserved date night.

I've posted about the loss that the Koke's experienced earlier this summer when their 17-year old son, Caleb, passed away in a car wreck. It's still a bit unreal to me as I'm sure it is to them as well.

Last week our church family welcomed Pastor Rob and Laura back. It was an amazing service and I only attended one of three of them. At our service at the north campus just about every seat was filled. The sanctuary seats 5,000 and that obviously doesn't count all the children and babies. Cars were parked way beyond the parking lot - sometimes four deep in the grass.

We love them and I wanted to share a bit of the service here:

Welcome Back Pastor Rob and Laura Koke from Bryan Martin on Vimeo.

Goodbyes Are Never Easy

After tomorrow afternoon I will have attended two memorial services this summer. One was for a boy at the young age of 17 who died tragically in a car wreck after falling asleep at the wheel. Tomorrow's service will be to remember a coworker I had only had the pleasure of knowing for less than eight months.

Both tragedies.

Caleb Koke was the middle child of my pastors, Rob and Laura Koke of Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas. I became one of the Koke's babysitters when I moved to Austin in 1997. Their kiddos have grown so much as all children do and Caleb was an amazing young man. His death was one of the saddest that I can recall over my lifetime. Watching my dear friends question the loss of their son and also Rob's own father just two weeks prior is hard to wrap my mind around. People who I've admired from a distance and close up were suffering and there was nothing that any of their friends could do for them. It will take time to heal such broken hearts.

David Barney, my coworker at Kershner Trading, was a software developer and as mischevious as they come. He often came into our HR office asking some of the most perplexing of questions and always walked away telling some sort of joke usually about himself. Even the week prior to his death he was helping a coworker and myself as we worked on a prank for another friend at work. You could just tell that he loved the idea of a good practical joke.

And as this week has gone by we've learned more about David, his life beyond our work walls and his life with friends from his work before working with us. You can just tell he was a man of few, but close and dear friends that will truly miss him.

It's hard to know just how to react when you lose a coworker. His desk is no longer occupied. His work no longer touched.

I can only hope that our memorial service we've planned for him tomorrow will honor his memory and will help to remind us how short life can truly be.

Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia Sits Down for an Informal Conversation

This summer's long awaited movie, Julie & Julia is based on Julie Powell's book, Julie and Julia, 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.

Julie Powell began blogging way before blogging and social media was cool. She set out to blog about her experiences of cooking from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, but had no idea about the journey to which she was about to embark. From blog to a huge readership to a book deal and finally to movie, this Borders Book Club candid interview offers a great glimpse into the whole process and allows new fans of Julie Powell a way to get to know her up close and personal.

Borders Book Club Interviews Julie Powell

No Health Benefits Tax

No Health Benefits Tax

Posted using ShareThis

We Said, "I Do"

Last Wednesday, Charles and I decided it was finally time to get married. We've been talking about it for sometime now, but we admitted there simply wasn't going to be that perfect time when we looked the way we wanted to look, to have saved the money we would have liked to have saved, etc., etc.

For those of you that don't know our story, Charles and I aren't really sure when we first met, but we were in the same schools from 7th grade through high school graduation. Charles grew up in Brazoria, Texas and I grew up in West Columbia, Texas. Our two towns and a small little village, Wild Peach, combined at the 7th grade to form our secondary and high school years. We knew each other back then mostly because it was a small school and everyone knew everyone. We went through high school together, but were never really friends or ever close associates. I don't think we even had a single class together, but looking through old yearbooks we find that we were involved in drama together at some point.

At our 15 year high school reunion we caught each other's attention, but never pursued anything.

Then at our 20 year reunion we found ourselves single and still eager to see one another. That was August 19, 2006. A few weeks later Charles left Baton Rouge for one of his first visits to Austin. By the end of September 2006 Charles and I were living together.

Not exactly on my agenda or on his. It was a huge surprise to my family, friends and coworkers and honestly I wasn't sure if it was a good idea at all.

The following May we purchased our home in Round Rock.

I couldn't have planned our relationship better if I had tried. It had to be a God thing.

Every day that we are together we laugh more and more and appreciate each other's goofy humor. We balance each other out and make up for each other's shortcomings. We appreciate the differences that we bring to each other's lives.

We had been talking about getting married for some time and expected that it would take place this spring. When conversing last week about it we questioned what exactly are we waiting for?

Early Thursday morning Charles had already researched what we needed to do in order to make this union official. That afternoon we went to the courthouse in Georgetown to obtain our marriage license. Then on Friday after work we shopped and found a wedding ring for me. On Saturday I drove around for hours to find Charles' outfit and my dress. On Sunday we finalized the pieces for Charles outfit and purchased his ring.

On Friday, we also called my parents to let them know our big news. And it just so happens that they were planning on being in Austin today. The bonus is that my parents are pastors. My father mentioned that they were staying at a hotel on Ladybird Lake and he thought it would be a beautiful spot for a wedding.

With that we had all the elements that we needed.

• License? Check.
• Rings? Check.
• Wedding attire? Check.
• Wedding location? Check.
• Pastor? Check.
• Bride? Check.
• Groom? Check.

My mom and I stopped by Central Market and the guy in the floral area whipped up a lovely bouquet. I called my friend Alice and she joined the four of us down at Ladybird Lake for the 7 pm ceremony.

It was precious. Simple and sweet.

Afterwards we went to Bess Bistro on 6th street in Austin and then decided it would be fun to pop by Whole Foods on Lamar and pick out our individual pieces of "wedding cake."

As we began making plans for our big day, Charles said he'd like it to be something simple like in the movie Runaway Bride with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. At the end of the movie it was just the two of them and an officiant standing on a hill.

Tonight our wedding was very close to that movie perfection and we are looking forward to many years together.

Thanks to those of you who reached out to us on Facebook and Twitter to send us your well wishes. We love you all!

It's Much More Than Your Sammich

For those that haven't yet tried Twitter or Facebook there seems to be a common thread of reasons such as:

Reason: I don't care what others ate . . . Reality: they think that all Twitter is about is posting what you ate last

Reason: I don't care to be found by classsmates . . . Reality: they think that classmates still suck or they're afraid to let them know they've either finally made it or are still searching for what will make them feel like they've made
it

Reason: I'm too busy to keep up with all those online things . . . Reality: they have no
idea how fast and easy it is to connect online

I ran across Laura Thomas' post and it really hit home. I agree that for me hanging out on social networks has allowed my world to expand exponentially both in a knowledge aspect as well as a connection one. I treasure the contacts I've made. I get a rush from the new things I learn everyday.

Thank you, Laura for your introduction of Austin Kleon!

Twitter Serves a Purposes During AT&T Outage

For those skeptics that wonder about how Twitter can serve a more business function this is a great story on how Twitter recently kept AT&T customers abreast of a situation in which their service was down.

AT&T Calls on Twitter During Outage

I'm Beginning To See The Light

Tonight I attended the Austin Technology Council's Tech Tailgate. An annual event and I was happy to get out and be encouraged by the attendance. Austin's technology community is not dead. In fact it's very vibrant and very alive.

I was encouraged to hear from Mike Mayeux, Founder and CEO of Novotus who always speaks from the heart and in particularly I enjoyed hearing him say,

"We (Austin) are on the front end of the rebound."

Here. Here. Mayeux! I wholeheartedly agree.

I'm hopeful. I'm watching candidates accept jobs. I'm watching companies turning their hiring plans back on. I'm watching as companies grow and stretch and tackle new challenges head on.

And then as I was shutting down my computer for the night I ran across one more piece of encouagement. Really. It really is encouraging. Peter Kim's post from a couple of days ago on the Dow when it FIRST hit 10,000.

Kudo's to Peter for keeping this piece of history and thank you kindly for reminding us to learn from where we are today and press on to greater things tomorrow.

Right Place Right Time to Hire

Lately it seems that every time I turn on the TV, radio or view a web page I'm see negative reports about people losing their jobs, the economy on a downward cycle or some other sad, sad story. It can be mighty depressing.

But then I see stories like this:

Hedge Talent For Hire But Few Can Recruit

The story reads just like most of the rest of the disappointing stories across the news waves, but this one struck me as hopeful.

The industry is now able to select from a wider pool of talent . . .

"Hopeful?" you wonder.

Yes, you know why? I'm a trader recruiter. Right now we are seeing better qualified candidates coming through our doors. We're inundated with talent that we may not have had a chance to speak to just six months ago.

I'm looking forward to this brave new world of talent ripe for the right place. Bring it on!

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed at Austin's First Geek Breakfast - SXSW 2009

Dave Delaney was kind enough to host Austin's first Geek Breakfast at Hoovers on Sunday, March 15. It was mighty early, but I met some great people at my 8 am breakfast!



Thanks, Scott for the video!

Shame on you Bernard Madoff!

My world now consists of looking for and hiring traders. Outside of my office door is where our traders reside at Kershner Trading - all 150~ of them as of today. It's a world filled with lots of computer monitors and CNBC blaring from opening to closing bell

Today there is a sad hush on the trading floor as the news reports are only focused on one man. Bernard Madoff. A man who has lost millions of dollars for people who trusted that he was investing properly for him.

Bernard Madoff By The Numbers

This article is simply today's story which reminds us all that there are some very bad people in the world. Sad. Very sad.

Why It’s Worth Sticking with Twitter

I found this fascinating quote today:

I’m sure there are business benefits of being on Twitter and you’ll find plenty of articles on the web as to why, and how.  But for me the real benefit of sticking with Twitter is the people you get to know from spending time there.Why It’s Worth Sticking with Twitter, Feb 2009

You should read the whole article.

And I wholeheartedly agree and applaud Joanna for such a great way of describing Twitter and giving first time or beginning users of Twitter a few more reasons to get on and get going with this microblogging phenomena.

Times they are a changing

Wow. I've been amazed of late by videos that show me how far we've come in our technology. There are powerful statements here.

Love my new job!

Okay, so it's not so new anymore. I've been with Kershner Trading here in Austin since Dec. 1. But I'm still enamoured.

One of the cool benefits is that they cater in lunch everyday. It's not free, but pretty close to it. We pay monthly to partake in the yumminess.

Today's lunch was too good not to tell you about. We had: Pecan Crusted Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Sauce, served with Roasted Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes and Dill Glazed Carrots.

Wow!

Know someone looking for a job that can appreciate a fun benefit like catered in lunch? Have them reach out to me - khaynes(at)kershnertrading(dot)com.

I'm currently sourcing for a Sr. Accountant, an HR Generalist, an HR Intern, a Technical Support position and both inexperienced and experienced traders.

See more here: Kersher Trading

This Personality Quiz is probably right

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Traveling Romantic Extrovert