I’m not talking about stay at home dads, here. I’m talking about the type who do some sort of work from home or work in an office. The guy in this article is a writer, and he’s shared his experience in this CNN article. But I couldn’t help wondering that if a mom would be writing the same article, would it get the same attention?

The thing is, balancing work and family is tough for anyone. The writer of this article believes that there is a double standard out there, where dads seem to get the short end. He says, “if a mom leaves the office in time to be home for dinner, she’s seen as an equally good mom and employee. But if a dad doesn’t want to stay late, he’s viewed as lazy or not a team player.”

Personally, I couldn’t disagree more. In today’s corporate culture, parents are expected to have lives outside of work. As in: both mom and dad. I worked in a construction office in which I was one of four women. The entire office was guys, and when “dad” had to leave at 5:00 to get home for the kids, not an eye was batted. As the lone single in the office, however, I was the one expected to put in the long hours because I didn’t have a family.

What’s your thought on this topic? Is there a double standard when it comes to dads?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Working Dads: Unfair Treatment?

You’ve seen that commercial on TV where the boss gives the office just a few minutes for a lunch break and all hell breaks loose as everyone dashes around looking for food? I never paid much attention to it until I realized what it actually was – single serve heat-and-eat meals.

My biggest issue during the day, when no one else is home, is that I don’t bother making myself anything. I hate the thought of hauling stuff out to prepare and dirtying dishes and utensils when it’s just me. I love cooking for my family, but for one person it seems like a waste of time and I’d rather grab something quick, which usually translates into a snack, which we all know can lead to trouble!

So I decided to pick up a couple of these Compleats to try out. My store had a really lousy selection and I was only able to find the pot roast and the beef tips meals. You should be able to find them with the heat-and-serve soups or other pre-packaged meals. I was also happy to find that the unopened packages don’t need to be refrigerated or frozen – real estate in both spaces is already tight enough!

Each meal comes in its own little plastic bowl, and you’re instructed to poke a few holes in the top plastic covering before putting it in the microwave for 90 seconds. And that’s it. I let it stand for a minute to cool down a bit, and once I peeled back the covering found that the entire thing was heated through (a nice change from frozen meals that never seem to get heated all the way through).

I tried the pot roast first, with comes with potatoes and carrots in gravy, and really liked it. I love stews and pot roasts, though, and this one was pretty tasty. Nothing was overdone – the potato chunks and carrots were perfectly cooked through and the thin slices of pot roast weren’t chewy. It wasn’t swimming in the gravy either – there was just enough for the whole meal. Yummy!

Since I liked the pot roast I figured I’d love the beef tips too. I was sadly disappointed. The beef tips themselves were good, and the little bit of gravy included, but the mashed potatoes were flat out nasty. How do you screw up mashed potatoes? Apparently you use instant and package it up indefinitely. After one bite I scraped it into the garbage so I could salvage the rest of my lunch. No more beef tips for me!

I purchased my Compleats at the grocery store for $2.99 each, and at that price it kinda kills the “yay, quick lunch for just me” that I was hoping for.

[image: Hormel product photo]

Post from: Blisstree

Product Review: Hormel Compleats