Tipping Etiquette

Quite often I have wondered how much to tip when it came to services and really everything beyond eating out at a restaurant. I'm a very generous person if the service is good so I always want to make sure I'm giving enough. Not knowing the proper tipping etiquette can actually be rather stressful. Have you ever gotten your hair or nails done and loved them, but had no idea what the proper tip was? I still to this day have no idea so I way over tip. Knowing how to tip the housekeeper, forget it, I'm clueless when it come to that too. There are even times when you can tip but its not necessary, but how do you know? How about after a massage, do you tip? You're suppose to. I have massage merchants who consistently share stories of being stiffed. I'm convinced people just don't know better. 

For those out there like me I did some research and put together a list of the basic services and their tipping rules. Hopefully this can be helpful for you, if you aren't sure all the time just like me.

• Restaurant- The standard is 15%. I tend to do 20%+ if the service is good though. Quite frankly I think the standard should be 20% in 2012 when the cost of living is outrageous. People do not be confused, all too often lately I have heard from men that the standard their grandma taught them was 10%....NOT TRUE anymore!! Tip well :) 
• Bar- The same goes for the bar, tip 15% and 20%+ if the service is great. Sometimes I'll just do $1 a drink to make it easy. 
• Speaking of restaurants and bars...if you're using a Coupon or Daily Deal discount....TIP ON THE TOTAL before the discount comes off. This is a huge, yet common mistake. 
• Massage therapist- 15%
• Nails- 15%
• Hair stylist- 15-20% I also learned you should tip your shampoo girl (sorry all girls of the past). 
• Car Detailing- 10% Make sure to tip appropriately also depending on the # of attendants working.
• Food Delivery - 15% (I try to tip at least $2-3 minimum)
• Taxi- 15%
• Valet- Tip when the car is returned $2-3

If you can think of any please add on!! 

Weight Loss Challenge....to self!

Over the past couple of years I have started to shed some unnecessary pounds. I honestly haven't had any major gains or anything and have been about the same since my early 20s, but I realized although I love me I'd love me even better a few sizes smaller fitting into the cutest clothes lol. Last year total I lost about 18 lbs and I think that was a mix of going to the gym and eating new things that were just better. I'm not that person that can sit down and eat a bag of chips or a tub of ice cream but I am the lazy lady that will pick up fast food way too often because it is the easy thing to do. At the beginning of the year I joined Weight Watchers to get me going. So far this year I have lost 8 lbs which I am happy about but it's not nearly where I want to be. I am ready to start shedding a lot more weight.

I plan to really get back into the game and start going back to the game and totally taking fast food 100% out of my life. Also....drum roll....POP. No more pop and I need to cut down on beer. Honestly the hardest part isn't that I crave these things it is that they are EASY and I hate cooking. I told my roommate tonight that its time to step up and we need to cook together and it'll help me shed some lbs and save some money!!

What I need....EASY and AFFORDABLE recipes that don't take a lot of time but that taste good!! If you have any please share. If you've been here and succeeded share your secrets and tips. 

Before I die...

Before I die....

how would you finish that sentence?

1. Get married. 
2. Experience true love.
3. Make a difference in the lives of others. 
4. See my nephew grow up. 
5. See my family a lot more. 
6. Get out of the country and see what is out there. 
7. Own a home.
8. Save money so that I can retire.
9. Write a book.
10. Work for Facebook or Twitter.

What would you say??

There is Value in a Professionally Written Resume

A good friend of mine and I were discussing her job hunt this weekend and it really brought me back to all the job hunting I have done over time. It is definitely not a fun process but if you hang in there and put forth all of your effort it'll pay off. The last time I was job hunting I had updated my resume and felt very good about it but I was embarking on a career shift also. At that time I decided it would be important to bring a resume company in to help me create the best possible resume. I found a great company via Twitter called Resume Express that gave me a free consultation with a lot of feedback on my current resume structure. Their free consultation wowed me and at that time I decided to purchase their service and get help creating a new resume and cover letter that would be fresh and really bring me to the next level. I worked with Alexander who I had found on Twitter. 


My biggest challenge was figuring out how to show people that 7+ years of nonprofit sales and marketing translated perfectly to sales in the for profit industry. Alex gave me some feedback on my current resume and told me about the direction he wanted to take it in. He went a very different direction from what I had, but he really broke down what was important and what would stand out to potential employers. I highly recommend Alex to anyone who is really serious about having a top notch resume. For me being armed with a new resume was power in itself, it was a fresh push that I needed to get back out there and really show people what I could do. 


When it came to Resume Express and working with an online company I was very hestitant and even scared to lose money or not ever get a finished product. Alex was great and walked me through each step. He had things done very quickly and made sure he'd tailor it to what my career goals and passions were.  I would recommend Alex's services to anyone wanting a great professional resume. My biggest concern was the translation of my nonprofit background, but it never was an issue…After seeing the finished product I was more than happy and want to recommend Alex and this company to anyone looking. 


Hopefully this blog will help people choose to put a few dollars into a great company that will help you create the resume you need to get the right jobs!!

29 things to do before 30....yikes one more year in my 20s!

Many of these will stay the same as last year because I was not very good at crossing things off. I'm going to be better this year.

1. GET IN SHAPE…shed some extra lbs. I dropped 18 in 2011...my goal is to double that this year! Trying Weight Watchers this year so lets see how that goes!!
2. Go to the gym at least 2-3 times a week to start and then work up to 3-5 times a week.
3. Enjoy life…figure out what my “happiness” is and how to start traveling towards it. 
4. Date a better quality of men. Stop thinking my happiness can be answered with a guy.
5. Visit my family in Ohio more. A few measly times a year is not acceptable especially now that I'm an Aunt.
6. Be a good Aunt. Spoil my nephew, Charlie. I will be sending him Michigan Wolverines football gear and balls so he can start his path towards becoming a Wolverine. 
7. Continue down my career path in sales in the internet industry somewhere where I can make more money and feel secure and happy.
8. Make some new friends!
9. Travel to Miami to see my bestie Devon. 
10. Get a passport and take a real vacation
11. Get a new car!! It's way past due. 
12. Blog more.
13. CHILL OUT...stop stressing about everything. I cannot control it all.
14. Figure out if leaving Chicago is the right thing for me to do.
15. Take more pictures to remember the great memories with those I care about. 
16. Go to a Michigan Wolverines football game. 
17. Stop shaving and start getting waxed. 
18. Stop being so hard on myself. Find ways to relax. No one benefits from being their own worst enemy.
19. Visit Napa Valley it looks beautiful 
20. Cook more. I want to learn how to cook new things and get creative. 
21. Find new ways to smile on my own.
22. Find some hobbies.
23. Get a new tattoo.
24. Clean more often. I hate it but damn my place gets dusty. 
25. Experience more in Chicago. More festivals, museums, events...whatever!
26. Try new kinds of food. 
27. Try to gradually teach myself to like spicy food. (I'm a wuss now).
28. Don't worry so much about what others think. 
29. Don't sweat the small stuff. Look at the big picture not the momentary rough patches! 

Here's to hoping that I do better this year and find a way to be proud of myself by completing my goals!!

Friends...having great ones or a lot of them?

When my birthday came knocking I became kind of emotional. Not even because I was turning 29 (I don't look it so it doesn't stress me out) but because I thought I hadn't made enough friends in my "old age". When it came time to create the invite list for dinner it was pretty short. Up until a good friend gave me a good mental shaking I was really sad and started to think that maybe I had made a mistake by not taking the time to make more friends over the years. I realized when my friend gave me the "mental shake" that it was so much more important to have a handful of friends you could truly count on then have a huge group of friends to that could just fill a table at a birthday party but would never be there if you needed them.

I see people with large groups of friends but really how many of those people can you count on to help you through anything. Those are the people that count. The rest are just filler. I think it's important to always continue to make great quality friends but my being emotional about it really wasn't necessary I realized. So many more things to stress about in life. I chose to not talk to people from high school because frankly I have nothing in common with them and it just does not really interest me in the least. I keep contact with my closest college friends.

Sometimes it takes a bit of an irrational moment to really wake us up and help us see what really matters. I should know...I have my fair share of irrational moments but I believe in learning from my mistakes and being honest with myself no matter how hard it is to get to the point where you can learn.

Almost 29...time to reflect on this past year

I am almost TWENTY-NINE years old! I created a 28 things to do while I am 28 list and I want to reflect on those things and see what I can improve upon for 29! 28 was not a great year for me but I want to brush it to the side and take on the world at 29. Making notes next to my old list will really help me be accountable for knowing what I want and not going for it. 

28 THINGS TO DO WHILE I AM 28

1. GET IN SHAPE…shed some extra lbs. I actually dropped 15 lbs in the span of this year. I need to get back to the gym though so I don't pack them back on! 
2. Enjoy life…figure out what my “happiness” is and how to start traveling towards it. Still haven't figured this out but I am working on it :) 
3. Date a better quality of men. No more D-bags for age 28!! Ah....lets just say I hit rock bottom with this so yet again another year to look forward to it being better. 
4. Visit my family in Ohio more. A few measly times a year is not acceptable!! I didn't have a lot of chances to go home but I did make a surprise visit to see my brand new nephew.
5. Make some new friends! I definitely did that this year and am looking forward to making many more.
6. Travel to Miami to see my bestie Devon. I didn't get to do that this year nor did I get to see NYC #7.
7. Travel to NYC to see my good friend Nicole and just see NYC for the first time
8. Start a new career path, one that will be the one I was meant to travel one. I DID IT!! I made it into the internet industry in sales. Finally #8 I can check you off. I truly hope that this opportunity really launches a better me and a better future.
9. Get over my fear of flying, or at least make an attempt and get on a plane. Another one that I did. I took a trip to NC for work! This was perfect because I couldn't even think twice about flying. I had to do it!
10.  Get a new car!! Vroom Vroom. Not even close to this....but my old girl is hanging in there. 
11. Waste less time online tweeting & facebooking. I realized social media isn't a waste at all and the time I spend online doing it is very valuable. I met a lot of great business people and friends!! Social media rocks and I'm going to continue to stalk it ;)
12. Blog more (not a waste of online time). I unfortunately was so bad at that this past year but I want to get better. I want to have guest bloggers and more followers. I love hearing feedback. 
13. Volunteer for a nonprofit that I actually care for. Still have somewhat of a bad taste in my mouth from nonprofit and the complete disgracefulness that I have seen behind doors. I'm going to continue to take a break for now and just work on me as a person. 
14. Look into becoming a mentor to kids. On the To Do list of the future. Becoming a better me first can only benefit everyone in the future. 
15.  Get a new tattoo or two. “Just Breathe” first' Not yet but it will happen. Refer back to #1...gotta get my ass in shape first lol. 
16. Drink a lot less pop, like 75% less than what I drink now. This has been tough. My pop drinking is at an all time high right now but now that I'm looking at this I'm going to put the pressure on myself 
17. CHILL OUT...stop stressing about everything. Life will work out. Hahaha....will I ever do this? It's just my nature. 
18. Convince my roommate to sign a 2nd year lease in our townhome :) Aww...he did but then he had to leave for work. Miss him! 
19. Find some hobbies that get me out and enjoying life. Spent some more quality time with friends just having good conversation.
20. Go to more festivals and Chicago activities. I think I did that this past year. Got out to some unique events this year. 
21. Wear a dress. Ok this sounds weird but I have been wearing one a year and it was for a gala I did, and now that I'm no longer involved I need to really push myself to do this.  Haha not gonna happen once during age 28.
22. Let my family and friends know how much they mean to me. I really hope they know this but I do tell them frequently. I even like to tell them on FB sometimes to embarrass them lol. 
23. Take more pictures to remember the great memories with those I care about. Still need to do more of that. 
24. Go to a Michigan Wolverines football game. I didn't get to do that but I have truly enjoyed a kick ass season!
25. Stop shaving and start getting waxed..I know TMI, but hey it's MY list :) Need to switch over 100%.
26. Add a few colors other than black into my wardrobe. Color has entered my wardrobe lol. There will be more to come but I just love black I can't help it. 
27. Stop having so many phobias and face my fears and overcome them. I'm still a wuss...this will go on my next list lol.
28. Vote for Rahm Emanuel to be the next Mayor of Chicago!! I DID!! He won!!

Items in blue are completed.

Items in red were not done but lets not give up!

29 THINGS TO DO WHILE 29....coming soon!