365 Days = 365 Opportunities for Awesomeness

In the past few years, I've gotten out of the habit of posting my New Year goals (not resolutions).  I've done some really cool things that were planned and some on a whim!  This year, I'm going to be intentional about what I want to accomplish.

My big goal is to run 365 miles in 2014.  That's a mile a day or a couple miles a couple times each week. 

Smaller goals just for fun:

• Run in a fun run with silly costumes.  (In 2013 we did the Bad Prom Run and it was fun!) I haven't picked the race yet, but it will be fun!

• Beat my 10k time from 2013.  I'll be running in the Wounded Warrior 10k on June 8, 2014.

• Host a dinner party to celebrate something....anything.  

• Use organic beauty care recipes and avoid buying new products when possible. (I ordered a recipe book that has things like face masks, hair care, body scrubs, etc)

It takes all kinds....

At work in the leadership space, we’re facilitating meaningful discussions around the Principles & Qualities Genuine Leadership.  In one of the classes we ask participants to think of a leader they admire and share what made them great.  Sometimes people talk about the Color Profiles, Myers-Briggs, Keirsey, Strengths Finders or any other method of assessment, and it’s tempting to look to a successful leader and try to figure out their profile.  Pretty harmless fun! 

What shouldn’t be tempting is to force your style to emulate someone else’s and expect the same results.  While some of our leaders may ‘lead with red’ or have M-B preferences like INTJ, there are also successful leaders that are described with different colors or assessment labels.  It doesn’t make one right or wrong – it’s just evidence that it takes all kinds to make up a team and a company.   For example: I’m proud to lead with green, be labeled an introvert, and INFP!  But heaven help us if everyone in the company was like me.  We’d probably be indecisive and 5 minutes late - but we’d feel really bad about it! :)

Introverts sometimes get a bad rep since they aren’t as open or obvious with what they’re thinking or feeling.  I’ve seen a lot of articles posted on FB and LinkedIn lately about introverts and the place they have in business.  I wanted to share one I found particularly interesting.    

http://elibishop.com/2011/07/27/10-myths-about-introverts/

The power of an apology

Never under estimate the power of an apology…no matter how delayed.  A woman from my office just stopped by to apologize for her behavior from over a year ago. 

 

In HR, you’re used to being beat up (verbally) by employees that don’t like what you have to say, so her screaming hissy fit wasn’t all that traumatizing.  But I forever associate her name with her temper tantrum and how nasty she was in that moment. 

These days our paths rarely cross and I have no influence on her professional future….yet she took the time to seek me out.  Her spontaneous apology couldn’t have been comfortable and frankly took guts.  It made me wonder if people associate my name with a bad behavior from years/months/days ago.   

We all have bad moments but I remembered a valuable lesson of an apology from a very unlikely teacher.  A very humbling experience....

Church Shopping

Trying a new church today?  Follow these easy steps!

Step 1: Decide to go to a new church.

Step 2: Look them up online for service times.  Realize you have 1 hour to go from sweaty, running mess to sitting in church.

Step 3: Rush getting ready process, skip breakfast, and drive like a maniac across town whilst putting on make up at stop lights.

Step 4:  Get to new church and read sign on door with service times.  9am & 11am.  It's 10am.

Step 5: Try to not swear under your breath as you wait for the service....stomach growling.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking....short cuts

This past weekend I went over to my parents’ house to spend a little quality time and to cook mom a (very belated) birthday meal. I wanted to make something special, delicious, and dad-taste-bud-friendly. 

A decision was made, a challenge was accepted, and I was off to make Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon for the first time. 

 It took hours to prepare (including patting dry every piece of cubed beef), and more time to check on, add more ingredients, move from stove top to oven, adjust slightly, dirty more pans, move from oven to stove top….Mouthwatering smells emerged from the kitchen and leaked out to the patio as it cooked. It was delicious! Beautiful! 

Friends, it tasted remarkably like other meals I’ve thrown in the crockpot on my way off to work. There’s something to be said about making one of Julia’s recipes, but I think my mom said it best: Julie Child's was a bored rich, house wife. 

Now that I’ve earned my cooking badge of honor, I’m back to the trusty crockpot.

Lawson and Auntie Beth weekend of fun

A few weekends ago, I watched my nephew while my sister was out of town.  We had an AWESOME time!

*To have context for the rest of this story, it is important to note that Auntie Beth doesn't keep Lawson toys at her house.*

I had activities lined up for us which included exploring around my neighborhood, feeding the turtles in the canals, camping out in my living room, roasting s’mores on the fire, watching a movie, etc.

….We blew through those activities in the first few hours.  (see above note re: toys)

So Auntie Beth and Lawson ventured out to Target to get some toys.  We left with a Power Rangers mask and a Transformer.  We immediately needed to go outside and practice our “awesome moves.” Video of said awesomeness here:

We eventually got bored and hungry so we came back home and ate everything in Auntie Beth’s pantry. Then we went to a park, ran around for a little, but got hungry again.  So we went to McDonald’s to have the 4^th meal of the day (at 2:30pm) and to run around on the playground.  What happened here inspired me to write this blog.

There was another little girl playing in the tunnels and slides at McDonald’s.  Her parents were sitting at another table and only spoke Spanish to her.  Lawson and the girl had never met but they immediately took off running and played for the next hour. 

That’s when it struck me.  Kids have it figured out. 

They don’t care who you are, what language you speak, what clothes you wear, who your parents are or if you live in the “right” neighborhood.  They don’t make small talk, and don’t care if they’ve hung out before or will ever again. 

In the innocence of childhood, the only important qualifier that needs to be asked and answered is, “Wanna play?”

Why the world needs moms

I had a perfect weekend, but on my flight home this weekend I ran into just about every traveling annoyance.

Annoyance 1: The cab driver was chatty and wreaked of smoke.

Annoyance 2: I checked in the night before, but was still in Group 5.

Annoyance 3: It seems everyone on my flight had trouble remembering they could only bring 2 carryons and they couldn't be the size of a small car. It took ages to board the plane while people tried to squeeze their super sized luggage in the overhead.

Annoyance 4: I was in a middle seat. When I booked the flight, that was the only seat available.

Annoyance 5: Apparently everyone also forgot that on flights, you need to turn off all electrical devices. No joke - it took 7 overhead speaker reminders, 3 walk bys by attendants, and I still heard a phone go off when we were on the runway.

Annoyance 6: I sat in the row in front of two kids under 8 and their teenage chaperon. The kids were in the wrong seats so someone had to give up their seat so the darlings could sit together.

Annoyance 7: The kids crunched on chips, the teenager listened to music on her cell phone speaker, the kids horsed around, farted, kicked our seats, and bounced on the tray tables.

My hero: The woman that sat next to me had enough. She first called the flight attendant and announced that she should inform the teenager to tell the children to stop kick our seats.

Some silence.....then another kick.

My hero whipped around and told the kids in a voice that made me sit up straight, "Please stop kicking my chair." It was perfect. She was polite, her tone was stern, and I'm fairly certain the kids didn't move the rest of the flight. (I know I didn't) It was glorious!!

This is exactly why the world needs moms. Moms to tell unruly kids to behave and tell adults to grow up.

Happy early Mother's Day! Thank you 14F and all the moms that never stop raising their own kids and the rest of us!

Playing catch up

So, what's been happening for the last couple of months? Here goes

1. For our company Christmas party, I won an exec's Mavs tickets. 4 great seats to a game against Houston, so I took my family. Mom had never been to a Mavs game, Dad and Casey hadn't been to one at the AA Center, and I hadn't been over there since Boot Camp days.

I have been going to so many football games, I had forgotten how much I like basketball games! Good music, fun crowd, and we won!!!


2. Tommy and I wandered around Annapolis one weekend. It was cold and very windy, but a cute town! We had lunch in a building that had to be 100 years old, wandered around cute little shops, drove by the Navy campus and stadium, then took a driving tour of some of the neighborhoods. We will definitely be back (when the weather is a little warmer) to walk around some more.




3. Lawson and I have been hanging out lately. He's turned into my little buddy...and I've turned into a headrest.



Now that it's getting warmer, Auntie Beth bought him a grill so he can be just like Grandpa.

Ask and you shall receive...

This week's temperatures and events:

Tuesday - High 19 / Low 12, sleet, snow, ice, media says it's the end of the world, work from home

Wednesday - High 18 / Low 9, ice hasn't gone anywhere, work from home, cabin fever begins

Thursday - High 20 / Low 14, roads are a little better, still lots of ice, reluctantly working from home, is the room actually getting smaller??

Weather forecast for Friday - High 25 / Low 18....and snowing.

Proof God is listening and laughing.

Winter in Texas

One of the branches I support is in Detroit. The office manager asked me if people can lay out year round in Texas. (Apparently someone from the Dallas branch visited and was very tan.) I stifled a laugh and had to explain that people in Dallas like their tanning beds and spray tans.

Ok, I know winter in Texas isn't REALLY winter compared to Detroit or DC. We start the day in the 30's and warm up to 55-60 degrees. Yesterday I saw a guy driving with the top down. Really? At least pretend it's a proper winter!! People are starting to talk...

Happy New Year!!

Every year I typically put together a list of new year's goals (not resolutions). Since I made a big goal this summer to accomplish 30 things in 12 months, I thought I would do a mid-point check in instead.

30 things in 12 months

1. Talk to a teacher about Teaching Certification & Prep completed 7/14/10
2. Organize and print digital photos completed 1/2/11
3. Organize photo prints
4. Pay off $7000 on my car
5. Take a 5 day vacation!! completed Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010
6. Go to a batting cage completed 4/30/11
7. Run an entire 5K (no walking!) completed 5/7/11..sort of. I ran almost the entire thing and walked just a little to avoid CPR
8. Sew Christmas Tree skirt completed 11/18/11
9. Keep a plant alive for 1 year completed 6/18/11
10. Go to a driving range completed 7/20/10
11. Cook a holiday meal on my own completed 12/5/10
12. Toss the football with Tommy completed 4/30/11
13. Go to a firing range
14. Take a spontaneous weekend trip with no plans completed 7/23-25 & 9/10-13
15. Read a Christian book completed 11/25/10
16. Read a faith based book completed 1/22/11
17. Plant a tree
18. Visit one of the 10 states I’ve never visited
19. Make a bowl with dad completed 5/30/11
20. Go to a concert completed 9/4/10
21. Write a short story
22. Take a cooking class completed 4/16/11
23. Design and order personalized stationary
24. Go to a museum completed 7/16/10
25. Join an Adult Bible Group
26. Try Vietnamese food completed 9/15/10
27. Donate blood 3 times donated 6/30/10 & 11/2/10 & ....
28. Fix my bike completed 4/5/11
29. Take Lawson to a park
30. Go fishing

Lawson and Auntie Beff

Last night I babysat Lawson for a bit while Casey went to a school play. We played and played....dressed as Buzz Lightyear of course.....

We Raced, We Hope for a Cure

On Saturday my friend, Annie, and I went to the Race for the Cure event in Dallas. It was simply amazing. Once we parked, it was a quick walk to the starting line and we were off! (along with 26,000 of our closest friends in pink)

The weather was absolutely beautiful. The race was packed, but everyone was respectful and patient with crowds and traffic.

The turn out was humbling. An estimated 26,000 participants for the same cause. All of us just because it's important but some wearing survivor shirts, some walking in celebration of a survivor, and others in remembrance.

The group we paced with consisted of mostly women participants. However it was so touching to see so many men in pink supporting wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc.

Race for the Cure

On my list of 30 things, I put a goal to run an entire 5k. I had planned to try to run the whole Race for the Cure 5k, but since it's so close to LASIK I'm not allowed. (I actually have a doctor's excuse to not sweat! woo hoo!)

However, since the cause is so important, I'm still going to participant by walking. I even bought pink walking shoes!

If you'd like to walk, you can register up until day of the event. (Oct 16) If you don't want to walk/run, you can "sleep in for the cure." It's the option for those who flinch at exercise at 8am on a Saturday.

If you don't want to do any of those but you'd still like to give toward the cause, you can donate on my page. I'm really not pressing hard for fundraising but I'm putting my page out there just in case.

LASIK...round 2

It's hard to believe is almost been 3 months, but enough time has passed that I can have touch up LASIK! I go in for surgery on Thursday, October 14. This time it has to work....well, because it just has to! (Mostly because I only paid for 1 other touch up and the thought of intentionally putting a laser in my eye more than twice just seems silly)

So here's to perfect vision!

(Um....keep your fingers crossed just in case...)

Bubbles 2.0

This week I have joined the majority of the population and bought a laptop! I'm not really sure why I haven't bought one in the past, other than a desktop was what I always had. But over the last couple years I've been trying to downsize and simplify my life. That includes eliminating wires and peripheral computer junk.

I tend to tell people I'm computer literate and have a natural tendency to be a "computer person." Truth is, I can figure out just about any computer program and minor issues, but I have no idea what any of it actually means. So my poor dad was volunteered as the family techie to help me narrow down what I needed. He helped me with technical questions like - What's a reasonable amount of memory? What processing speed to I really need? Dell or HP?

So thanks to dad's expert assistance navigating websites and 5 trips to the store, I have Bubbles 2.0.

If you couldn't guess by the computer having a name, my mom helped in a big way too! She helped sort through the other important things like - What color should my computer be? Are the speakers loud enough for music and Netflix? And because my mom names everything, she provided the nickname for my laptop! (The shell is slick black with silver circles.)

Bubbles is Bubbles 2.0 because the original Bubbles suffered from CUSBOE Syndrome. (Compulsive USB Over Eating Syndrome) She ate dad's wireless mouse signal so dad exchanged her. Bubbles 2.0 has been behaving and running like a dream!

Pink Martini & DSO

If you've never heard of the group Pink Martini you must take a listen. They are eclectic group out of Portland that fancies themselves a little orchestra.

And that they are!

Casey and I went to their concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night. For the first half of the concert, the DSO played some quirky favorites to get the audience in the mood for Pink Martini.

For as much as I enjoy traditional music that the symphony has to offer, the Pink Martini breathed life into a half full Meyerson. Their music was lively and funny one song, 1940's Samba lounge the next, followed by a sultry ballad in French. Yes French. They sang in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish, and probably a few others. It was simply amazing.

http://pinkmartini.com/

To top it off, the DSO called before the show to upgrade our tickets. I bought tickets for the cheap seats in the nosebleed section because there's really not a bad seat in the house at the Meyerson. But since the show was barely half sold, they upgraded our seats for free so we could sit with everyone else. Our seats ended up here:



Not bad at all! I could see facial expressions clearly! The only downside to our seats was that we didn't get to join in on the conga line on the last song!! It was such a great show!

Bat in the office

I started watching the American version of The Office when I joined Freeman. Thanks to Netflix, I was able to start from the beginning and watch every episode. In just about every episode there has been a moment, relationship, comment, or situation I can completely relate to.

Yesterday, I could relate to the episode where they had a bat in their office because we had a bat in our office!

BAT! BAT!! from Tardy Sauce on Vimeo.

Though we didn’t have a Dwight to save us, we had our own version with the maintenance workers. One guy is about 170 years old and another didn’t speak English. Through a series of gestures and pointing, they decided to catch the little guy in a net and hopefully take him to animal control.




That is zoomed in picture - he was about the size of my palm. He was so cute!!! The poor thing clung to the ceiling while about 50 people took pictures and video. I think he was happy to be captured and out of the limelight.

Top Golf

This week is Stephanie’s birthday extravaganza. Typically the week of her birthday, she schedules local events and goes on a trip. Since I can’t make the trip this year, I joined her for the Tuesday activity – Top Golf, a driving range in Dallas.
I’ve never been to a driving range, but it looks like fun and fairly easy.

Fun, yes. Easy....Not so much.

My first attempts were surprisingly better than expected. I made contact with the ball and even managed to make a few points!

However, some attempts were less than successful. Exhibit A:




After 4 swings and 4 misses, I connected on the 5th try. However, the ball went straight up, hit the ceiling and landed about 10 feet from where we started. No casualties were reported.

We had a lot of fun, but I don't think I'll be on the PGA tour anytime soon.

Retired glasses called up for active duty

My eyes are healing well!

However, impatient MB has officially kicked in. After hearing stories of people who have had LASIK and drove themselves home seeing 20/20, I'm frustrated with my process. I couldn't even open my eyes after the surgery. I wasn't too drugged up, but I have no idea how someone would be able to operate a car successfully!

When I get too frustrated, I just try to remember 3 short days ago they cut a flap and stuck a laser in my eye!!!

I really can see much better and can function without glasses, but can't see distances well. So I'm going in today to get a lens prescription to tide me over until I can get LASIK touch ups in 3 months. Looks like I can't retire my glasses just yet....