What's a Woman to Wear!

From time to time Jocelyn and I thought we might throw in some fashion finds and tips for women in business like ourselves.  Jocelyn are I are shoppers extraordinaire and so are several of our co-workers.  We love to find a great deal!  Occasionally I realize later though, that the great deal I got on those $9.99 shoes was not such a great deal after all, when I leave the bank at night with my feet killing me. Now I proceed with caution when the deal seems to good to be true.  Quality is the key!  
At National Bank of Arkansas our dress code is Business Casual. This code was selected several years ago. It is nice because we really are not a "stuffy" or "formal" atmosphere bank.  We want to relate to our customers in a professional, yet comfortable environment.  With that in mind, Business Casual is still sometimes hard to define for women.  We like it because it means we are not required to wear a suit every day but we know it does not mean we can wear jeans.  Sometimes it is hard to find that middle ground. So some tips I have found over the last few years are as follows: 

1) If it is something you would wear on a Saturday afternoon to "hang out", you probably should not wear it to work.
2) If you have the slightest doubt in your mind about whether it is acceptable, it is not!
3) I always try to follow the rule "dress for the job you want".
4) Your office/desk is also an extension of you. You may be wearing the nicest thing you own, but if your desk is cluttered, dirty or covered with diet soda cans and snack wrappers, it will not matter.
5) Foot Petals for women shoes are the best thing I have ever found for making high heels comfortable (Dillard's)
6) When in doubt, be "over dressed", not "under dressed" for the situation. 

We hope you find these tips useful!  We would love to hear about any tips you may have to share!

Kimberly

Holiday!

Madonna sang about it, there are movies on it, and we always look forward to it...ahhh a holiday!
So I spent the last holiday, as I suspect many of you did, with my mother.  I consider myself lucky to live close enough to drive home for Mother's Day brunch.  Every year we dress up, bring our gifts, eat and celebrate Mom.   Unfortunately for her, she is still Mom and most of the time gets stuck with the brunch check. (sorry Mom) 
May is a big month for holidays.  This week I ran across an article talking about all the holidays and rather unknown holidays in May.  There is of course May Day, and Cinco De Mayo for our spanish friends but, did you know about National Clean Your Room Day? What about National Dance Like a Chicken Day? May 20th is Be A Millionaire Day and the 23rd is Lucky Penny Day.  We can help you at the bank with the last two mentioned (do not forget our Premium Rewards High Interest Account).  The one we are focused upon here at the Bowman branch is Memorial Day.  When you stop by our Bowman location we are handing out hearts for you to write your loved ones name on and hang on our wall.  We know this holiday originally began in 1868 to honor our fallen military. We certainly are doing that, along with others we want to remember. We hope you will take a moment on this upcoming holiday to think about those who so bravely went before us.
Have a great weekend,

Kimberly

Living With An Attitude of Gratitude

I’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about gratitude. I think I’m finally listening. There is a difference between the two. “Thank you” has always been easy to say to my friend or my Dad, but am I focused on living that way every day? Probably not. Now I am not into any kind of “new age” thinking, but I can see how focusing on gratitude or appreciating what we do have, can at some point, overcome our dismay about what we don’t .

Just like when I was learning to ride a bike, I would repeat “don’t hit the tree, don’t hit the tree”.  I hit the tree!  Finally I learned to focus on something else, and went sailing right past that tree with a “Look Mom, no hands”! 

Many “gratitude” teachers advise writing down 5 things that make you grateful each day.  Each night when I write in my journal of gratitude, one sentence is always “grateful for my job”.  Most days it’s followed by “grateful for my co-workers and friends”.  I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my co-workers, friends, and the opportunities working at NBA has provided for me. 

I guess the point to my story is that being focusing on what we have, can have a huge effect on our daily life. Believe me there are days I wake up grouchy, wanting this or that, but when those days hit, I’m learning to change my focus.   

With gratitude,

Kimberly