We’re more than half way through our company-wide fitness challenge, and I have to say, I’ve definitely learned a few important things over the past six-plus weeks. I thought I’d share, so here they are: my High Five for Friday! 

1. There’s strength in numbers. During the summer months, there are tons of fitness events going on around West Michigan. Races, triathlons, charity walks—so many ways to step up our game! But what fun is a 5K anything if you’re all by yourself? This year, many of us have encouraged our peers to join us in our endeavors, and it has paid off with friendships made, goals achieved, and maybe even a few pounds lost.


   
   
       
   
   Last Friday, this team of Baudvillians braved the wind and drizzle (and it was a bit chilly, too!)
   to participate in a 5K run that benefitted the American Cancer Society!
   
   
   
2. Baked beans count as a vegetable. Though I’m pretty good about eating my leafy greens, I struggle to get a good balance of all the other vegetables in the kingdom. Just as the mere sight of another carrot was about to turn me homicidal, I remembered good ol’ baked beans. If you make the vegetarian kind, they’re not only fat free, they’re high in both fiber and protein. Hooray for the magical fruit!
   
   
3. There’s more than one way to sit at a desk. I’m 43 years old and I’ve been slouching my whole life. I know it is a terrible habit with even worse physical repercussions, yet I have been unable all these years to make any noticeable improvement. I simply fall back into the old routine once the notion to stand up straight slips back into my unconsciousness. Through some recommendations, including one by a fitness guru who visited the ‘ville a few weeks ago, I ordered a stability ball chair. It promises to improve my posture while sitting, increase strength and balance, and keep my muscles more active, even when I’m tied to my desk. I just started using it, so I’ll report back on this one…
   
   
   
   
   
4. Gardening burns a lot of calories. Pulling weeds, heaving mulch, digging holes, wielding a weed whacker…it all adds up! According to myfitnesspal.com, I burned more than 500 calories for my two hours of labor. And because I was focused on getting the job done, I didn’t even notice how much time had passed. My yard looks great, I got a little sun (with sunscreen on, of course!), and I think I discovered a new muscle between my biceps and triceps!
   
   
5. A mist of olive oil goes a long way. Though I commit many crimes in my kitchen—especially in the name of weight loss—I draw the line at certain types of foods that fall under the category of diet or lite. I’d rather have no sugar than an artificial sweetener, the added calories and cholesterol of butter versus margarine (let alone anything ambiguously called a spread), and, most recently, I’ve become suspicious of cooking sprays. I’ve done some reading and concluded that there are far, far worse villains out there. Nonetheless, why take the risk (so to speak) when there’s the wonderful invention called Misto? It delivers a light spray of pure, non-aerosol-propelled olive oil to whatever I’m lubing, which is way better that eyeballing a dollop from the bottle and ending up with a pool!

What are your favorite health & wellness tips? Share them with us!   

--------------------------

Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three-plus years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!  

Office Peep Creep. You may have heard of something called a cube crawl—an office potluck in which each cube dweller hosts a different dish, and participants travel from cube to cube noshing and networking with their coworkers. Well, I had a dream of something bigger. Involving Peeps. And so I challenged all of my peers to create a peep concoction (preferably edible!) to be presented and voted on today. We had a great turnout with tons of creative ideas! Here are some of my favorites (and you can see them all on our Facebook page):


Katherine's "Making Smores"         April's "Summertime with my Peeps"            Sarah's (super delicious) "Peep Pops"

April Fool’s Day Gags. I am not much of a practical jokester; but a little trick we played on our customers on April Fool’s Day was the biggest brouhaha we’ve had in the creative suite in quite a while. What a blast! Want to see what we did? Click here. (If nothing else, we definitely amused ourselves—and that’s OK, too!)

Grammar Girl. Being a writer, I am supposed to be intimate with all the ins and outs of grammar, punctuation, and word usage. Don’t tell anyone; but I actually don’t know everything. But Grammar Girl does and she has saved me from many a syntax snafu. If you lie awake at night wondering if you are actually laying or lying, you can sleep soundly evermore with this useful explanation.

SuperTracker. As the head of the Bod Squad (that’s Baudville’s internal health and wellness team), I’m responsible for finding useful information to help our staff reach their fitness goals. We’re about to embark on our next challenge, and I’ve been doing my best to set a good example (never mind that Peep Contest thing!). So, for the past couple of weeks I’ve been using the USDA’s SuperTracker to record my food intake and physical activities. It’s VERY enlightening! Give it a try here. 

I Rock Today Stickers. Since I was a little girl, I’ve been accused of being a show off. Stealing the scene at my older sister’s slumber parties, sporting audacious shoes, loudly proclaiming my own awesomeness in the void of others’ compliments…guilty! Thank goodness we designed these new stickers. Now someone else can toot my horn so I don’t have to! In all seriousness, if done in moderation, letting people take pride in their accomplishments can be really motivating. I Rock Today stickers are a great, casual way to recognize when they do a great job—and then they can tell the rest of the world!  

--------------------------

Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!

Last week I spent my time relaxing in California during Spring Break. Although, it was not exciting to come back to school this week, I am ecstatic that it’s Friday today. Grand Rapids, MI will be a delightful 80 degrees this weekend and I am spending it outside!

Redwood Forest:  

Let’s start with my favorite thing about California, the Redwood Forests. These mammoth trees will make you stand in awe for hours. Hiking around the forest and driving to an elevation of 7,000 ft. was breath taking. If you’ve never been, I strongly suggest throwing it on to your bucket list.

Tulips:

When I arrived home on Monday, I noticed my tulips are starting to peek out.  Spring really is coming and soon! Personally, I have such nostalgia about tulips because of growing up in Holland MI

Shamrock Shakes:

Although these are not my all time favorite shakes, I prefer strawberry, McDonald’s ever popular Shamrock shakes will yet again leave us until next year. So, if you’re one of the fanatics out of the millions, make sure you get your fix this weekend, before you know it, it will be the end of March and they’ll be gone!

My Twist Top Tumbler:

For Employee Appreciation Day, two weeks ago, I received my favorite Twist Top Tumbler, the Positive Praise - You Rock! Yesterday, I took it to class with me. It was perfect for walking around with, and a great reminder for me to keep drinking water. I received so many compliments about it from my classmates, everyone wanted one!

The Lorax:

That wraps up what I am most excited about. I hope everyone has a great weekend doing the things they love!
Kendra

I know you must be as excited as me that it is Friday! What would you High Five for Friday?

---------------------------------------- 

Kendra is the newest Baudvillian. She is currently an advertising intellectual at Grand Valley State University, and is ecstatic about the change of atmosphere as Baudville’s web marketing intern. Watch out because this young professional just touched down at Baudville.

Wow, I don't know about you, but this week flew by for me! I finally sat down to think about this post and the first thing that came to my mind was how obsessed I am with the color red right now and I literally want to eat, drink, wear and give RED. So, in light of that, here are some of my favorite red hot items for the week.

1. Red Velvet Waffles with Cream Cheese Frosting. I have never even seen these first hand. I have not been to the restaurant that serves these. I was just innocently watching one of my favorite shows, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, on the Food Network and my life changed forever. I just about flew through my TV to try and take a bite of these magnificent looking waffles. Then ironically, my friend (who lives by this restaurant in California), took a picture of them and posted it on Facebook like the next day. I have NOT stopped thinking about them and I am about to get on a plane to get them. YUMMY!

 

2. Sweet Treats. Last Friday for Employee Appreciation Day, these Sweet Treats were one of the goodies in our bag and honestly, I forgot how much I love red jelly beans. They really hit the spot. You should definitely get a stash of them to give out to your employees and let them know how awesome they are!

3. Red Exotic Heel Shoes. So, I went to a wedding last weekend and was so tempted to buy these shoes to go with my dress. I know you don't know me, but I am so not a heel kind of gal and yet I still think about them daily and it's taking every ounce of my being not to buy them. Do you have your eye on something right now that you know you shouldn't buy but can't stop thinking about? It's so hard!

4. Funny eCards. I am thoroughly addicted to Pinterest and one of the type of pins that is constantly floating around are these hilarious ecards. I just love them because they make me LAUGH OUT LOUD and are usually so true it hurts. This one especially, I always find myself in this situation... why am I always so hungry?

5. Employee Appreciation Day T-Shirt. We had a great day last Friday celebrating Employee Appreciation Day, and another one of my favorite gifts in the goodie bag was the t-shirt that everyone received. Who doesn't love a good t-shirt with a fun saying on it?

Well, that's it for me - I hope you had a great week and wish you a wonderful weekend! Don't forget Spring Forward!!

------------------------ 

Kimberly is the Baudville Website Manager and star of our online product videos. She applies her knowledge of the web to create the ultimate online experience for Baudville customers.

To quote my co-worker Dean-o, it’s finally Feel Good Friday! As Baudville’s only copywriter, I had my hand in everyone’s cookie jar this week, and now that it’s almost over I have to say, “whew, I’m full!”

Multi-tasking mania aside, it was a great week full of all kinds of inspirations and revelations. Here are my top five:

Carnevale – Midwest Style. Our downtown Grand Rapids transformed into a Fat Tuesday frenzy, complete with street musicians, dancers, and festive fare at 12 different area restaurants. What a joy to see our city explode with celebration. And what dedication – after all, it is February!

Creative Juicing Meetings. During these daily, early-morning meetings with Baudville’s creative group, one of our team members brings an activity that we all participate in. From still life drawing with Mozart, to writing six words stories, to building an iguana out of Legos, each project gets our minds flowing and sets the stage for a hyper-productive day.

{F}Score by Sally Hogshead. If you’re in the business of anything, you need to know how to fascinate your audience. Watch Ms. Hogshead’s captivating TEDX talk (it’s worth every minute), then take the {F}Score Survey to determine your fascination triggers – the unique personality and behavioral traits you have that allow you to influence others (including the people you work with)!

New Product Development. It’s design, development, and wordsmithing time at Baudville, which is like my Birthday, a Key West vacation, and a hot fudge brownie sundae all in one. In other words, I love when we’re in a new product cycle! You’ll have to wait a few months to see what brilliance we’re hatching this round; but if you want to see what came out of the last session, look here.

Robert Rauschenberg’s Synapsis Shuffle at Grand Rapids Art Museum. Presented so far only in New York and Paris, this interactive exhibition is a huge coup for Grand Rapids, Michigan! It opens March 3rd and will be curated by one lucky member of our community. While I won’t be that person, I am beyond excited that our fair city has this incredible opportunity!

--------------------------

Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!