Two Year Anniversary

Two years ago today, several things happened that I remember very clearly:



1. I ran in the Brookhaven Bolt 5K race in Atlanta with friends and co-workers from EI-Atlanta in efforts to raise $5,000 for the Shepherd Center Therapeutic Recreational Center for paraplegic patients.



2. I attended the wedding of my friend and former boss Damien Hagedorn and his wife Meghan Weiss with my friend Laura Selzer who was visiting from San Francisco. (this is the same friend that I would later switch jobs with in order to move to sf).

3. I went on a pub crawl in Atlanta with my kickball team and good group of friends. It was the end of the year wrap up party for the kick ball league which consists of hundreds of 20-somethings in the greater Atlanta area. We started out at this British pub and stayed there for hours. By the time that we decided to head to the next pub in the "crawl," the buses that were sponsored by the kickball league had stopped. We called for a cab, but it took way over an hour to get there, so we almost decided to go home and call it quits, but thankfully we didn't, because...

4. I met Kent.

At the second stop at a British pub in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood in Atlanta, I met my amazing boyfriend Kent, who I am so blessed to have in my life. In just two years, we have experienced many life changes together-
we fell in love
kent got out of the army, moved to California, and started law school
we went through a long distance relationship, travelling back and forth for a year between SFO and ATL
I moved to California and changed jobs, learned to camp and love the outdoors and recycle
we lost loved ones and witnessed the arrival of new ones


During this time, I have truly realized that together we can overcome anything. We have been so blessed with so many wonderful times together and have been encouraged by each others love during hard times. I could go on and on- but mostly, I just want to say that I am grateful for May 17th, 2008. What a marked day!

Favorite Quote

Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in direction of truth and love.
-Miguel Angel Ruiz

Here is to Health and Organization in 2010

My two New Years resolutions for 2010 are as follows:

1. Eat healthier foods (less McDonalds)

2. Be more organized at home

I now realize that these resolutions sound rather boring, but they can help to eliminate/reduce stress and fatigue out of my life. I have been challenged with stressful situations and long work hours over the past several months, and I need to find a way to keep balanced. Eating better and being more organized are two ways to help me get to that balance point.

Eating better will give me more energy and keep me feeling better and also help with my running goals! More sleep should also be at the top of the list, but I think focusing on 2 resolutions is enough.

So.... my action plan for resolution #1 involved

1. buying a book to educate me on better foods to eat

2. using that information to buy better foods at the grocery store

3. ensuring a weekly trip to the grocery to keep me out of restaurants

4. bringing my lunch to work at least 3 times a week

5. Only drinking a soda if I am craving one- dont drink one just because

I bought the book Super Foods: 14 Foods that will Change Your Life by Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Meadows while I was in the airport travelling to Atlanta en route to Panama City for Christmas. It is a good book that outlines 14 foods and their supporting foods that have the most valuable nutrients to health. Some doctors dispute the ability of certain foods to better your health, but I figure it can't hurt, and it's definitely better than the greasy pizza and hamburger alternative.

The 14 foods that this book claims to be "super" include the following:

1. blueberries

2. beans

3. soy

4. spinach

5. broccoli

6. tea (green or black)

7. oats

8. tomatoes

9. oranges

10. turkey

11. pumpkin

12. walnuts

13. salmon

14. yogurt

I truly sound like a true "Californian" now - talking about the latest books on food and health. It seems that I am enjoying the culture and embracing lifestyle changes that complement by active lifestyle. (Is this me giving my self a pat on the back)?

Either way, I have been able to incorporate some of these foods into my diet over the past few weeks, and I can notice a difference- I definitely feel more "ready to run" after eating lots of fruits and veggies through the day versus a McDonalds happy meal. :) Also, I know that these 14 foods are not the key to health and fitness. I just use the list to remind myself what foods are good to buy at the grocery store, so I buy yogurt instead of ice cream. I know that I probobly dont need a book to tell me that, but using it as a guideline helps to keep me on track and give me ideas to keep it at the front of my mind. Over a while, it will be come more natural to eat healthier, and I won't have to follow any "shopping list" that comes straight from a book.

ROLL TIDING in PASADENA

Click here to view these pictures larger

Alabama in the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA

Click here to view these pictures larger

A New York State of Mind

Christmas blog to come..but in the mean time...I am heading to New York tonight to Kent's parents' home in Highland Falls. I cant wait to get there! It will be my first visit to their home in the Hudson Valley. It is just a beautiful spot in the world, and I can't wait to experience it for myself.

Kent called me this morning to tell me that there is snow on the ground. We will be playing in a winter wonderland tomorrow, and I am so excited!

Million Dollar Baby

I do realize that even after my last blog about not blogging that I have still not started blogging again.
I just got back from my first trip home since moving to the West coast. I had such a wonderful time, and I am already looking forward to going back. I was so excited last week as I was preparing to fly out the night of the 23rd. We had a holiday potluck at Gap; I was wearing a new sweater, and I just couldn't wait to get on that plane, land in Atlanta and see so many loved ones that I missed so dearly. I was scheduled to leave the office right at five, so I could get home in time to pack and clean before my Super Shuttle picked me up at 8:30 for my midnight flight (had to leave plenty of time for the long holiday lines). Around 3pm, I get a call from our Chicago team that works on the Gap account, and it turns out that we have billed the wrong account for about a $1million in duty (tax) payments to US Customs. If we do not fix this asap, we could potentially overdraft the account, and be subject to thousands of dollars in fines to the government. I immeditely get on the phone with our executive leadership because I definitely need their help when it comes to problems of this size ($1M!). It turns out that this problem is not easily fixable, and we won't know how to fix it until one of our internal customs gurus returns from vacation after Christmas. This means that I must go through the entire holiday not knowing how this can be resolved. I felt utterly helpless at this point!

Feeling discourged, disheartened, and sick to my stomach; I thought, "how in the world could this happen, and how could I not catch it before it became a big problem?" Images of quitting or being fired flashed through my mind. While it was not directly my fault, I still feel like I could have prevented it if I had asked enough questions while this part of the business was transitioned. I lead this program, and the responsibility is mine.

I internalize everything, and now that my boss is basically non-existent I have noone to offer real feedback or support- no one that is truly invested in my development. There are many great people that are involved in the account that I could reach out to for support, but you can't force a mentor/mentee relationship. That develops over time.

In the middle of this, I had to leave the office in order to get home, so I could catch my flight on time to get home. All of the excitement had drained out of me, and I was just sort of empty. I made it to the airport. I drank a beer before boarding my flight, and that made me feel surprisingly better- not that Im condoning alcohol as a coping method. :) I boarded the plane in San Fracisco, made it stop 1 in Dallas around 3am West coast time.... I groggly made my way off of the plane and onto the next one, landing in Atlanta around 9:30 east coast time...