Gables Westlake

Gables Westlake is ready for Gables Day!

Our office will be closed tomorrow, May 9th, for a company wide event. That event is known as Gables Day and it is one of our favorite times of the year as Gables Associates. Gables Day is a day we get the chance to volunteer and give back to the community. This year, we will be volunteering at Posada Esperanza, which is an organization that was created in 2003 in order to create a program that could serve the needs of homeless families. We will be painting, updating and installing new landscape in three houses. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough!

Maintenance Mania 2013!

Every year our Gables Westlake Maintenance Team participates in an event called Maintenance Mania. This year teams from a variety of companies competed in a series of challenges from Faucet installation to Kiddie Fire & Carbon Monoxide Safety Installation to a Conservation Race Car Competition; that is where you have to build a race car out of supplies we would have in our Maintenance Shop and race it. This year it was hosted at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. Our team ranked high and are excited to compete again next year! We are very proud of these guys and appreciate all of the hard work they do for us.

Apps to keep your New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the first week of January and I already have broken my New Year’s Resolutions. I want to drink less, eat healthier food, reduce my coffee intake and exercise more. Sounds like pretty standard New Year’s Resolutions to me. I should be able to keep at least one or two of them.

I can admit that I have a tiny love affair with my smart phone, who doesn’t right? I decided to look for apps that would help me keep my New Year’s Resolutions.

Check out this article to help you find the right app for you Gables Westlake. Are you going to download any of these apps? Let us know in the comments.

Bloggin’ the Nog

This how we do it…..(in the words of Montell Jordan)…

Eggnog recipe for the folks that love it, but have no idea how to make it!

Ingredients

4 cups milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
12 large egg yolks
1/2 cup bourbon, (optional)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
Grated nutmeg, (optional)

Directions

In medium saucepan, whisk milk and sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks. Whisking constantly, pour hot mixture into yolks in a slow and steady stream.

Return mixture to pan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until thick enough to coat back of spoon, 20 to 25 minutes; do not let simmer. Quickly strain into a bowl. Stir in bourbon, if desired, and cream. Cool completely; cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled. Garnish with nutmeg, if desired.

OR if you are like me, hit the grocery, grab the pre-made nog, and add the liquor! Happy Holidays!

Recipe: Martha Stewart Living

Visual Fables Rock!

A lesson about life. My mother sent this to me this morning, and it got me thinking. Most iterations that put an author on the story attribute it to writer Mary Lynn Plaisance. Regardless, this is pretty neat. Check this out - it’s a cool visual. Let us know what you think!

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem , almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
And had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions -
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else —The small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ He continued,
‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So…

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

‘Take care of the golf balls first —
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
‘I’m glad you asked’.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’

Take a moment tonight to think about this. Hope it made you smile.