Tracey Lamont

In my early days, growing up in Texas, I always enjoyed food. My father and mother both cooked nutritious, balanced meals on a daily basis. I remember being young and my dad had ordered a bag of large shrimp. I remember asking what was in the bag. He schooled me. I don't recall having shrimp before that although I had tried frog legs one evening at the Lubbock Club. Go figure. I still can remember how good the food tasted which is why I appreciate certain foods. Looking back, I really enjoyed it when our friends would invite me to go get Mexican food. I always enjoyed it and it's a favorite to this day. I had a fairly well rounded palate for a younger person. I was 19 when I tried Italian bouillabaisse. It was so good. Isn't it interesting how you can remember everything about the experience? The food, the ambiance, the people you were with. Maybe it's just me. Anyone who really knows me will tell you, she lives to eat! There are those who eat to live and then there are people like me who live to eat. I prefer savory foods to sweet. I like things like Arugula, Swiss cheese, blue cheese, collard greens and an occasional gin and tonic or a Greyhound is quite nice. My mother would serve Brussel sprouts and to this day I enjoy them. I section the leaves and have them in salads as well as sautéed in butter. I would pass up dessert for a prime rib dinner, end cut please.

Today I was thinking about appetizers. Why? I don't know. I just do these things. I saw yellow squash, onion and sweet potato while at the store. The fruits and vegetables looked really good. I was thinking how I could combine them to come up with a tasty appetizer. So, this is what I did. First, I placed a sweet potato in the oven at 350 and I poked holes into it using a fork. I knew it would take a while to cook. Then, while it was baking, Meridian diced an onion into very small bits and then sautéed them in a small amount of butter and set them to the side. I cut the yellow squash in 1/2 circle rounds. I lightly greased a pan and placed the rounds flat in the pan. I baked them at 400 for about 30 minutes. Then we flipped them so the other side could get brown. As the squash was cooking, I peeled the skin off the sweet potato. I mashed it on a plate and added a slight drizzle of Karo syrup to it. When the squash was done, we layered the sweet potato on the squash rounds by spoon and topped them off with the diced, sautéed onions. Cilantro to garnish.

My daughters both gave them a 10! I agree. They were really good. I hope when you try the recipe, you enjoy it.

Let me know!

Biggest hugs,

Tracey

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Will you quit?

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

I was reading an article and it discussed things that managers do which lead to employees quitting their job. We've all had jobs where there was that ONE supervisor or manager that was something else.

Bound and determined to make your life miserable for one reason or another.

As I was reading the article, I reflected back through the years. It's interesting to listen and digest another viewpoint. It's all about learning and growth isn't it. The article made me think of a few things.

My first job was a box girl. I bagged groceries at a grocery store in Las Vegas. Yes, I did. We also collected the carts in the parking lot....in the heat of summer. It's a dry heat though. *eye roll-lol* We didn't have the straps or the fancy machine they have today to push those heavy carts, oh no. I bugged the Manager for weeks to hire me. He finally did. I'm certain he was simply exhausted by the time he hired me. I was earning around $3.00 an hour back then. Sometimes when I go shopping, I like to bag my items. I can still bag too.

I've also worked in retail at Diamond's which is Dillard's today. (I still have several of the turtle neck shirts I purchased with my discount!) I enjoyed that job. I was in the ladies department and enjoyed the fashions. Go figure!!

I was also an operator at an answering service and a runner for a title company. During my freshman year at college, I worked in the management office at the mall in the evenings.

In the years to come, I was employed by three major hotels in Las Vegas. Those years, taught me so many things, such as: effectively communicating with customers, clients and people from all around the world and all walks of life. I realized I was a valued employee. I was recognized several times for my dedication. Hindsight is 20/20. These opportunities provided me a foundation when I opened my own business. It was gold. I knew this much. I wanted my employees to WANT to work for me. It was important to have an atmosphere exist at my office where employees were happy and wanted to come to work which would increase productivity and the quality of the finished product, top shelf. We could all get the work done and have a good time doing it.

Appreciation of good employees was focused on. Celebrating their desire to learn and grow was equally important. I didn't want them to get bored. If they wanted a challenge, it was there. Cross training the staff and teaching them new skills was encouraged. Applauding their efforts when they're doing a good job too. We all like hearing positive feedback. Communicating with them and guiding them to be the best they could be was really cool. I hope if and when they think of me they smile. They all knew I was very dedicated to our clients but they knew I cared about them as well.

I made sure every week, my employees and I would have a meeting. We were all on the same page and we all knew what was going on. Our discussions were productive most times and it enabled us to come together to reach our goals as well. I kept them in the loop and I didn't ask of them what I wouldn't and couldn't do myself. Their schedules were posted early and I worked with them if they needed time off. I was considerate to their needs and although running a business isn't easy, it's not a one way street. You need each other. Good employees aren't necessarily hard to find, you have to communicate, treat them like YOU want to be treated and pay them a respectable wage. It's an investment in our future. You're their leader, whether you're a supervisor, manager, business owner or CEO. It's mutual respect.

Biggest hugs,

Tracey