Everyday Project Management

A while back I mentioned my Mom has brain cancer.  It’s been a very tough journey for our family.   Her doctor in Connecticut put her on hospice in September and told one of my brothers she might only have a few more weeks to live.   It’s now almost November and Mom is alive and actually recovering with us in Florida.   Why?   I was able to find curcumin root at the Whole Foods in Sarasota.   Back in June I had found curcumin root at the Whole Foods in Glastonbury, Connecticut.   I had her drinking a tea from the root a couple times a day.   Over a three week period back in June she regained some of the capabilities she had lost then and appeared to be on her way to recovery.   But then I did not know how important this root was for her recovery.  We had to switch to a pill form of turmeric because Whole Foods and other local health food grocers could no longer get the roots.   She suffered a dramatic down hill slide the doctor in Connecticut thought was inevitable anyhow.   (talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy).   The Connecticut medical team was acting as if my Mom only had a couple weeks left  so another brother, my father, and I figured there was nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking her to Florida.  (Our family members who lived in the Northeast full time were very upset with us for taking our Mom away from them.  It was not easy to get her out of this downward slide of a situation).

Soon after we got to Florida, I found a Whole Foods store twenty miles from their Florida home.   I found the curcumin root there and started her on the tea again.   When we got to Florida, my mom wasn’t talking much and her voice was very weak.   She has ended up in a wheel chair from a seizure and a fall she had in Connecticut in September.   Two weeks now after drinking the curcumin root tea twice a day,  her voice is strong and she can engage in conversation, even has become quite the comedian.   She can once again feed herself and is now working on getting her capabilities back to get out of the wheel chair - does an hour of physical therapy every day, goes to Feldenkrais twice a week to regenerate the lost neural networks that caused her left side paralysis and rallies the whole family before dinner every day to take her swimming.

And we were able to get her an appointment at the Burzynski Clinic to evaluate if that therapy could help her more.   We are also even entertaining the idea with her of entering into an independence immersion program in San Francisco to help people with brain injuries learn how to live independently again.

It all started with this little root.   What I learned by studying this root over the past several weeks, was that what I had been doing - slicing up a root, and boiling it in water and using it to make a tea was actually releasing the very substances that were able to cross the blood brain barrier to kill her brain cancer cells.   My Mom likes black tea so we just steep a decaffeinated black tea bag in the curcumin water and mix in a little stevia.   Soluble curcumin crosses the blood brain barrier to kill the type of cancer cells my mom has - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006899309002182.   The water soluble form though is very unstable so we use the water right away.   Another report I read said that steeping this root in oil releases the same compound that crosses the blood brain barrier and the compounds stay stable a lot longer in a lipid solution.   But since we don’t normally cook with this spice - I don’t have the recipes yet to use this oil that my mom would enjoy.   It is mentioned in many of the articles I’ve read on curcumin on why people in cultures that use turmeric have a much lower incidence of cancer.

I would normally say check this out with your doctor if you have concerns.  But what I’ve learned about the medical profession is if you want to stay alive, stay away from your doctor and do your own research. Remember this is the same group of professionals that took a hundred years to start hand washing as a practice to protect their patients (still typically 15% of doctors fail at this very simple practice).   Many doctors are very averse to changing their practices no matter what evidence there is to the contrary.   If you don’t like what your doctor is telling you - go find a new one.   We may have finally found medical professionals focused on doing what is right to help my Mom recover from her brain cancer.   We think they are at the Burzynski Clinic - I will report back when we get there.

Yesterday, we asked Project Managers to give us their thoughts on the benefits of obtaining their PMP® certification. The feedback was so motivational and inspiring that we had to share. See the story that won our PMP Story Contest below, and check out all the stories submitted about how PMP certification helped people reach their goals faster than ever on our Cheetah Blog.

Obtaining my PMP caused my marketability to sky rocket. For several years prior to obtaining my PMP, I
supported projects as a Documentation Specialist or a Project Coordinator. Although I started to pursue my bachelor’s degree, I decided to postpone that goal as my various employers were not offering any type of tuition reimbursement. During an assignment where I was a project coordinator, a Senior Management Executive counseled me on my career aspirations and strongly suggested that I consider obtaining my PMP. My years of project support enabled me to qualify for the exam. I obtained a position with a company that offered tuition reimbursement and also offered reimbursement of certifications. There was one catch… the company’s product was insurance and the language in the employee handbook did not take into account that the market offered certifications for more than just insurance agents. Because of that “loophole”, I was able to fight for the right to take the Cheetah PMP course and exam – at the company’s expense. Immediately after I became certified, the human resources department amended the handbook and included the stipulation that reimbursement for certifications and licensure was limited to the insurance industry and specifically excluded project management.

After earning my PMP, I was able to secure a Vendor Relations Manager position that increased my salary to $105,000 per year.
My salary ranged from $30,000 to $42,000 per year. After earning my PMP, I was able to secure a Vendor Relations Manager position that increased my salary to $105,000 per year. Due to the economy, my salary has dropped to as low as $63,500. After transitioning from the automotive industry to the healthcare industry, my salary is once again, a six-figure income. Maintaining my PMP and continuing to learn various project management and SDLC methodologies established by various companies has been extremely valuable to me. The foundation that PMBOK offers, equips a flexible project manager to adapt to the various methodologies and processes across industries. The only downside that most people find in this industry is that most positions are contract and do not offer the stability that is assumed with a permanent position. Having had the opportunity to fill this role as a contractor and as a permanent employee has been quite an experience for me. The stability that I thought I had with the permanent position was non-existent when the company decided to downsize its workforce by 24,600 employees (most of which were Project Managers). I was able to quickly adjust to the role of contractor again because of my previous experience.

The one piece of advice that I would offer to anyone interested in obtaining their PMP is very simple. Go for it. If you don’t go after what you want, you won’t get it. It certainly won’t be easy, if it were, everyone would have those 3 important letters behind their name. If you feel that you know how to effectively manage projects, you owe it to yourself to command the respect and the income that comes along with mastering that skill set.

As a certified Project Manager, the security of the position depends largely on the approved funding of the project and the skills and abilities brought to the project by the Project Manager. The longest amount of time off between assignments for me has been three months. The toughest time for me was when the automotive economy hit its lowest point in Michigan. With the headquarters for each of the three major automotive manufacturers located in Michigan, the need for project managers is very great when funds are available for development and enhancement work to information systems. Conversely, when the economy is suffering, typically, information technology is the first budget item that is cut.

As a result of my experience in various industries, I am now able to quickly reject any inquiries from recruiters that are not able to support the salary expectations that come with the level of experience that I am able to bring to a company. There are many positions that I do not qualify for simply because I do not possess a college degree. But many times, the door remains open because of my PMP and my background. Having my PMP is invaluable.

A few years ago, my husband planted several apple, pear and peach trees on a sloped, sunny spot alongside our garden in the backyard.  We’d dream of the day when we could pick our own fresh fruit right from the tree - for free!  The first year, we got nothing, nada, zilch - Did we do something wrong? Were these dud trees or something?  Perhaps they were too young to bear fruit?

The next year, the trees grew larger and we started to get tiny little red pears on one of them.  They were so cute! A few days later, due to the dry weather, the tree snapped in half and all the little pears fell and never made it to ripeness.  The following year, a herd of deer (or something!) had a field day and devoured pretty much all of our fruit and most of our garden for that matter while we were on vacation - tomatoes and everything  - GONE!

So this year, we were not even going to get our hopes up - we pretty much gave up and were content with looking at our pretty, bare trees, feeding the wildlife, without tasting the fruit ourselves. Until one summer day in early August, there they were!  Beautiful, yellow, red and orange colored  (albeit smaller than store bought) PEACHES!!!  Finally!!!

We picked a dozen or so and they were DEE-VINE!  I’ve only picked and eaten apples and pears from PYO picking orchards before - the taste and juiciness of our peaches were amazing!  The natural fruit enzymes of the peaches popped in my mouth they were so fresh and alive.  We decided to make a peach cobbler, found a recipe online and tweaked some ingredients to make it a little healthier.   Our first, fresh Peach Cobbler was, to quote Rachael Ray, DEE-LISH!

Our fruit tree experience reminded me of the benefits of eating seasonally, locally and from your back yard (if possible).  The taste, cost, nutritional value and personal satisfaction of that peach cobbler couldn’t be bought anywhere!  It took some patience, yes (a few years!), but it was so worth it!

Oh, and before I share the Peach Cobbler recipe, let me share a little bit more of our peach story.  We decided to let the other 30 or so peaches that remained on the trees ripen and grow a little larger, so we left them alone for a few days.  Can you take a guess at what happened?

We came home from a weekend away and found that we were robbed again!! The herd of deer (or whatever “it” was/”they” were), sauntered in the backyard and ate them all - not one peach was left for us to enjoy!  (On the bright side, at least they left the tomatoes this time.)  The lesson learned was that you have to strike while the iron’s hot and harvest as soon as nature’s bounty is ready — or someone (or something) else will!

Here’s an easy Peach Cobbler recipe from Whole Foods.  I use most recipes as a template - feel free to substitute ingredients to suit your taste and dietary preferences:

Ingredients

6 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (we had about 8 cups of peaches)
1 3/4 cups flour (we used Gluten Free)
6 tablespoons sugar (we used about 4 T of Xylitol/Birch bark natural sweetener)
2 teaspoons almond extract (we used 1 t vanilla)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
10 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and chilled, divided (we used 5T)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup half-and-half (we used almond milk)

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup of the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, almond extract and lemon zest and juice. Pile mixture into a 10-inch baking dish or pie plate, then dot with 2 tablespoons of the butter; set aside.

In another bowl, combine remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons of the remaining sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingers, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add half-and-half and lightly toss together until a soft dough forms. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto peaches until surface is almost covered. Lightly pat down dough to evenly distribute over the top, but leave spaces for the peaches to show through. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden and peaches are bubbling.

Nutrition

Per serving (221g-wt.): 330 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 4g protein, 50g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 31g sugar), 40mg cholesterol, 290mg sodium

Enjoy!

About the Author:  Evelyn DeDominicis is a certified Holistic Health Coach and Workplace Wellness Consultant whose intention is to guide individuals and organizations on their journey to living in optimal, sustainable health and life balance.  She offers 1:1 coaching, group coaching, cooking classes and wellness consulting to individuals and organizations.  Evelyn recently joined the Cheetah family to launch Cheetah Wellness - a unique wellness education and behavior change approach using Cheetah’s Accelerated Learning and Project Management techniques.  You can learn more about Evelyn at www.evelynwellness.com and more about Cheetah at www.cheetahlearning.com.

I rounded the corner into the driveway at the end of my usual 4.5 mile run. The three cars were parked in their prescribed positions. The two cats perched in their ordinary look out spots awaiting my return and their evening meal. But one thing was very different. The gate of the Toyota was open and its contents announced the achievement of an important milestone.

Inside the trunk of the car were well organized and neatly stacked plastic containers filled with the essentials an eighteen year old needed to start a new phase of their life. Clothes, books, personal care items, small fridge and athletic equipment, you know the basics. It was the pair of boldly displayed bright blue Nikes that triggered the flashback and a moment to remember.

It was 1997 and a hot July 4^th morning. Her big brown eyes were adorned with long lashes and always smiling. Two pig tails swept her blonde streaked hair to the top of her head and bopped with each step she took. Sporting shorts to just below her knees and a white imprinted t-shirt almost as long, she ran her first official road race. The race distance was about 100 yards, perfect length for a four year old. She gave it her all and walked away a winner.

It was also the day of my first official road race. Mine was longer though, two miles. I was able to complete the entire distance, mostly walking. Needless to say, I didn’t place in my age group, but I too walked away a winner because in the weeks that preceded this milestone, I had taken action to begin to improve my health and focus on becoming a positive role model for my daughter. It would be the first of many road races for both of us during the next 14 years.

Although I suspected my role modeling of healthy actions and choices would impact both of my girls, it wasn’t until several years later when they began to make their own sports and activity choices, the significance of the role modeling became evident. Healthy snacks preferred to junk food, after school clubs, involvement in sports and community activities chosen over hours of endless TV.

When I jogged around the corner on Tuesday and saw the car in the driveway packed with all her gear ready for the 750 mile road trip that would begin her college adventure, her imminent departure became a reality. But even as the lump in my throat grew and I swallowed hard to fight back the tears, I knew she was well prepared for the journey and ready to face new challenges. 

About the Author: Jill Hart, Project Management Professional (PMP) and owner of Brain Logic, LLC helps companies integrate the voice of the customer into their design products, technology and processes.  When she’s not focused on her business or family, she enjoys running, biking, blogging, teaching and cooking.

I hit the 500 mile point in my walking goal on July 3rd. The rest of July though was fraught with two significant distractions - an unplanned week long stay in NYC to be there for my Mom undergoing a brain cancer biopsy and managing a very painful digestive problem. Plus the heat and humidity in the river valley where I’m staying has made it unbearable to be outside walking after 8 AM or before 8 PM. I’m starting August having to play catch up. The good news, I am in fantastic shape from all the walking, swimming and tennis. And it’s no problem to bust out 7 or 8 miles in under two hours. I added playing tennis 50 times to the end of the year to my thousand mile walking goal.

And I am adopting a total plant based diet for the next six months. I made this rather drastic move initially to support my Mother’s recovery from brain cancer. We found out three months ago she had an inoperable brain tumor. We immediately went into high gear to help her heal from this and the tumor has not grown based on the changes she was able to make to her diet and lifestyle. I have led the alternative treatments - one of which has been a mostly plant based diet. I wasn’t as strict with it myself and until recently cheated quite often. The very good news, that while we recently discovered her tumor is an aggressive grade three type of tumor, it has not grown in three months since they discovered it. Now the plant based approach to eating is my preference too - it helped heal my digestive ailments. And just what am I going to do with all those cattle?

Initiation - This is by far the best loaf of bread I’ve ever made.  Now the question is, can I repeat it.   The whole loaf was made because of other things going awry.   The first event was a house guest mistaking the hard red wheat berries for rice.   After the second pass through the rice cooker, we were both wondering just why the rice was not getting any softer.   Until I asked her where she got the “rice.”   When she pointed to the buckets where we store the wheat, I knew the problem.   Now I had four cups of very soft wheat berries.   The next “mistake” was in milling three times more durham wheat flour for the pasta than we needed.   Left with four cups of semolina flour, and everyone visiting having had way more pasta than they wanted to eat again in a week, I didn’t just want to leave it lying around to oxidize it’s way into the standard fare you can purchase in the store.

Planning

I asked a friend who used to be a baker if she had any bread recipes for semolina flour.  This flour is a little grittier than regular flour and takes longer to absorb the liquids.  It’s also higher in protein and rises differently than more refined flours.   She found one that required using wheat berries.  Voila.  the solution.  We had the main ingredients - the semolina flour and the wheat berries.   I tossed the recipe.  Here is what I used instead:

3 cups semolina flour (made by grinding durham wheat berries)

1.5 cups soft red wheat berries (cooked in the rice cooker with 4 to 1 water)

3 cups milled hard winter red wheat berries.

1 cup gluten flour

2 tbs yeast

1 tbs salt

1/2 cup molasses

Execution

This is where the mistakes continued (thank god).   I mixed up the dry ingredients first.  Then added enough warm water to make a nice elastic dough - just a little this side of sticky.   Okay, yes I know that this is not that much information.   Once you start to make bread as the only way you’ll eat bread, you will know what I mean.   I forgot to add in any sugar.  The dough was made and had been adequately kneaded.  I figured, what the heck, it was a failure loaf anyhow.  So I just tossed in half a cup of molasses and put on the kitchen aid for another ten minutes.   Went back to the computer, answered a few more emails.   When I smelled the mixer starting to over heat, was reminded what I had going on in the kitchen.   Turned off the mixer, covered the bowl with some saran wrap and went off to the next alaskan adventure with my guests.   We got home five hours later to the dough that had taken over the kitchen.   One of my guests had shown up with my french bread pan from Connecticut.   I rolled out three loaves for the pan, and shaped the rest of the dough into a small round loaf.   We again left for our next adventure, not returning to the kitchen until early the next morning.   The loaves had again tripled in size.   I popped it all into a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.   What emerged was the lightest, tastiest whole wheat bread I have ever made.

Monitor and Control

None - that was the joy of the accidental loaf.  Make sure to use a VERY sharp bread knife when cutting into light and delicate breads.

Close out

I’m not sure if I can ever repeat all the circumstances that went into this absolutely perfect loaf.   I have to remember this as one of my key learning lessons in life.   Accidents and mistakes often lead to the most amazing outcomes.   Relish and embrace them.

Is it worth it? and can I do it? are two fundamental questions posed in the Influencer book by Patterson, et al. I realized six weeks ago that if I didn’t start to make a very strong effort to catch up on my walking goal, the thousand mile pursuit would slip away into one of those things I tried once in my life but didn’t quite make.   I am happy to report on May 18, 2011 - that I am within a stone’s throw of catching up on my goal and on track to hit the 500 mile mark by the end of June.   I am now competently walking five to six miles per day.  And some of those walks are with major elevation changes (i.e. lots and lots of hills).   I feel great in so many different dimensions.   I am over the having to motivate myself to get out and walk as the first thing on my mind when I wake up is how am I going to fit in a five or more mile walk today and where. I am learning how to balance out the fatigue from the day before, the current issue du jour work load, where geographically I am on the planet (I travel A LOT), who else is with me, their physical capabilities and interests, and the weather.   This month I’ve been on a traveling bender to move kids from college, participate in a college graduation, and get the corporate retreat center in Alaska ready for the summer’s events.    I managed to fit in a four mile walk in the rain while waiting for a plane in Juneau. Lead several multi-generational walks with other companions ranging in age from 8 to 80.  Learned what it’s like to walk up steep hills both ways for six miles in the Alaskan wilderness and why it’s better to do those types of walks at the end of the day, not the beginning.  Started hiking with personal protection devices and greater awareness of moose and bears.   I have also rid myself of clothes that have gotten way too big on me (woo hoo).   It has been a fantastic month for my thousand mile walking goal.   I can do this and it is so worth it.

March got away from me. It was a heavy travel month with too many two and three day lapses in the walking regimen. I ended the month 25 miles short of my 85 mile goal. I’m sure I could have counted all the walking in just the effort of travel - but it was sporadic and hard to track. I did manage to log several days of skiing at Tahoe. All the walking had me skiing better than I have in years. It felt FANTASTIC.

To get back on track, I am surpassing my own limits and now walking 5 - 6 miles a day. It feels great.

Initiation - I had this soup at a small little greek restaurant. It seemed so simple so I reverse engineered it. You can easily adapt this as a vegan recipe - just use olive oil instead of butter and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Planning - This is a very simple recipe and fast.

Ingredients

1. One head of Escarole - just use the green leaves, not the stalks.
2. One yellow onion - chopped.
3. Three cloves garlic
4. Two tbs good olive oil or real butter
5. 1 tps salt or to taste
6. 1 can white beans
7. 32 oz chicken or vegetable broth

Execution

Saute the onions and crushed garlic in the olive oil or butter. Add in the escarole. Saute until it shrinks. Add in the white beans, salt and pepper. Saute for a few more minutes. Then add the broth. Heat thoroughly.

Monitor and Control

Do not brown the onions - saute until translucent.
Taste before adding more salt.

Close Out

It’s a bit hard finding the escarole but this is what gives this soup it’s punch. Do not substitute another green.

I started walking outside again last week. The first foray out - yes I wiped out. Got a big black and blue, but nothing my shiatsu qi gong masseuse, Pat Bolger couldn’t fix. Funny as I was talking with her on the phone setting up my next session when I hit the ice patch. The phone went sailing into a far off snow bank. So, my walking was derailed for a few days but I’m back at it. I’m 9% behind schedule for February, but overall am up to 122 miles - woo hoo. I’m sticking to my neighborhood, NOT the walking paths. The road is nice and dry, and there is a fantastic hill that gets my heart rate up. Every walking path in the area has a very low coefficient of friction. And I’m still doing a two mile stint on the elliptical machine four or five times a week.