Underpinnings Blog

Category: Happiness

  • Civil Wars

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    The Casualties Are Higher When It’s Personal It didn’t take the #metoo movement for most of us to be familiar with being undervalued or disrespected or ignored at work or in school.  Even our youngest millennials who work in progressive companies with open-minded colleagues have run into ugliness at some point.  The trouble may have…

  • Happy Anniversary Us!

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Where’s the Smash Cake? A little over a year ago we decided to do something crazy, and Underpinnings was hatched.  We have built up a fabulous community, and we hear every day from one of our “skirts in dirt” how much they enjoy reading others’ stories and how much it helps them to know they’re…

  • Thankful

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Thanks Are Not Relative Here at Underpinnings, we strive to figure out how to level the playing field for women in the deep foundations industry and in other male-dominated fields.  We try to listen to the women in our professional and personal communities so that we can understand the many facets of the obstacles women…

  • Do Be Do Be Do

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Was Frank Singing About Balance? Are you familiar with the 50/50 theory?  This concept might be considered part of today’s earthy crunchy “mindfulness” movement, a nebulous buzz word-y school of thought that encompasses everything from recycling to snacking.  However, the 50/50 theory seems to have some actual merit, so I’m kicking it out of the…

  • I Can Do That

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    My Favorite Things Early summer brings many of my favorite things.  I get to visit the local nursery and spend way too much money on every annual flower that catches my eye.  Lunches, dinners, cocktails, brunches, and even afternoon coffee take place outside on patios, piazzas, decks, and sidewalks. And sundresses and espadrilles are parts…

  • Are You a Feminist?

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    What Does That Even Mean? Are you a feminist?  What exactly does that mean? And is it important to you to identify yourself as such? Megyn Kelly, former Fox News host and current NBC news personality, was widely derided in 2016 by her refusal to label herself as a feminist.  She stated that the term…

  • What Time Are You Leaving?

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    How to Avoid Killing Your Colleagues It’s Thursday afternoon at 3:50 PM.  You’ve managed to end a phone call with a very talkative client who just happens to spend $3 trillion dollars with your firm every year.  If you can make it out the door in the next 15 minutes, you’ll blow through the parkway…

  • Toolbox Talk – The Dangers of Heat

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Precautions for Heat Hazards So, you did it.  You slept with someone at work.  Are you feeling liberated?  Great.  Hang onto that feeling, because it’s going to last for about another 14 seconds. As women in a male-dominated field, we spend a lot of time talking about men who treat us badly or who make…

  • Well Read

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Booking an Adventure I am a nerdy fan of any type of personality test.  I love evaluations like Myers-Briggs, and I’m fascinated even by scientifically unsupported associations like astrology.  We all know that psychology is a soft science, and the interpretations and nuances are never-ending.   Plus, I am constantly intrigued by people. To that end,…

  • Happy Holidays – Whatever That Means to You

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Merry/Happy Something It’s the end of December, and avoiding a holiday of some sort would be a difficult task.  This is the time of year that emotions and social activity seem to hit a crescendo, sounding a tone that provides a soundtrack for our lives for at least a few weeks, if not more. As…