Love The One You’re With

Finished another of the Emily Giffin book series titled, “Love The One You’re With.” It’s easy reading, but I appreciated the last few sentences of the book about love. This Thursday is Valentine’s Day — one of the top commercial holidays — but a reminder to express your love to those closest to you. Hope it’s a day we all take to not only appreciate those around us, but to give ourselves some much needed love, appreciation, and ‘me’ time!

Just as I decided never to confess…how close I came to losing everything. Instead, I hold that day deep within myself, as a reminder that love is the sum of our choices, the strength of our commitments, the ties that bind us together.”

I want to underline the point that struck true for me:

“Love is

the sum of our choices,

the strength of our commitments,

the ties that bind us together.”

Yep!

Denver Sunrise (photo is my own)

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2012 – A Full Year in One Blog Post

20-12 wasn’t the year for my blog. Clearly, the year had huge time gaps where I posted nothing at all. But I’d like to think it was because I focused more on LIVING. I did miss the writing though. Capturing the moments through the year that inspired me, drove me, or were just plain cool.

 

So here’s my attempt to do 20-12 right and quickly share the top 12 moments for this year. 12 moments, for 12 months, for the year ’12. It’s never too late, so I’m taking charge and getting it done just under the wire 🙂

Cheers and Happy New Year! See you next year.

 

Annual College Girls Reunion in Memphis!

Hiking up the tallest dune in the Great Sand Dune National Park.

My friend Jen and I having brunch in the Space Needle with 360-degree views of Seattle! Unbelievable.

Best shrimp truck in all of Oahu… Giovanni’s.

Trying something for the first time – sea kayaking. Harder than I thought and a great team building exercise for a relationship 🙂

Meeting Jaws at Universal Studios. Duh-Nuh…

Best theme park ever! It really is the most magical place on Earth. Disneyland!!!

Another first… letting the Sea World flamingos nibble my hair! Apparently it’s their way of helping me groom myself. They were gentle and quietly ‘honked’ while doing it. Classic.

My Laguna Beach sunset. Chased down and well worth it.

Stomping grapes and touring Napa Valley wineries to ring in the big 3-0. Couldn’t have asked for more for my special day celebrated with family!

New York City at Christmas time was incredible. A 5-day work trip mixed with classic NYC moments…a great ending.

As fun as it is to look back, it’s more exciting to look forward! From my family to yours, have a safe New Year.

 

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Always a Kid at Heart

I’ve never been afraid to be dorky, laugh at myself, and be silly. It’s one of the things I like the most about myself. I don’t have to be mature or “act my age.” People often forget to be silly, use our imaginations and to just PLAY!

Something I’ll always remember from my childhood… Dr. Seuss.

When I was in Orlando this summer, I took a moment to appreciate the great Dr. Seuss area of the park. It brought back so many memories. My grandparents giving my brother and I a Dr. Seuss book to learn to read and enjoy. Loving the rhymes and characters. Even graduating high school, where many of us 18-year-olds got “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” and we believed it. Not even fully comprehending the meaning of that book until much later in our lives.

So don’t forget to play, and have fun, and to not be afraid to just be a kid at heart! Your soul will thank you too.

Green Eggs and Ham

The Cat in the Hat

That crazy cat

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Dr. Seuss books, most likely lead to my love of reading as a young child to an adult

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book? My vote is for “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”

 

 

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Everything’s Amazing & Nobody’s Happy

Just came across this video and I have to say I completely agree. Often times when I hear people (or myself) complain, it feels ridiculous. We’ve become such a spoiled rotten society. We don’t appreciate what we have, we only focus on the things we don’t have. In a constant state of “I need.”

I catch myself saying it all the time. Then when challenged with, “do you really need it?” The answer is always most certainly “no.” So how did we get to this place? Why is our focus so off?

Last year, I came up with an idea for an e-book, titled “We’re Missing It” and the concept (still in my head at this point) is similar to this interview with Louis C.K.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

I read Gretchen Rubin‘s blog, The Happiness Project, and especially love her thought-provoking, happiness-understanding ways. It’s fascinating how happiness is something that everyone pursues, yet it can be achieved and destroyed so differently.

Have you ever watched the CBS show Sunday morning?

It’s old school, however I love it! The show’s format is similar to how I see the format when reading a magazine… fascinating stories on topics you never realized could be so interesting, long enough to really do the topic/subject justice and utterly relaxing. Plus, it showcases pictures/art/sculptures, you name it, of the sun. All submitted by viewers, how cool is that. Oh, and my other favorite part, the last few minutes of every show they transport you to another location and allow you to experience it by listening and watching. There aren’t any words spoken, just breathtaking sounds and sights, it’s peaceful and makes you stop and appreciate this world.

A recent Sunday Morning episode is about happiness. They speak to Gretchen Rubin to hear her findings from experiences and she simply says:

“The key to happiness is strong relationships with other people…Show up…Take the time to show up.”

As I’ve gotten older, I realize how true this statement is. Connections are what make us happy. Sure, you can be happy on your own. I’m a huge fan of “me time.” But relationships with family and friends, even colleagues, tend to make us happy. I love the simplicity of her statement, “show up.” It will be a phrase I bring to life in my everyday happenings. I commit to showing up.

Are you taking the time, nah, making the time to show up?

P.S. – What’s also fun is that Boulder, CO is revealed to be the #1 city in the country where people are the happiest. As a current Denver resident, I believe it’s the Colorado lifestyle overall that allows people to be happier here (300 days of sunshine, the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and an active lifestyle), but the sense of community of Boulder is where its unique.

 

 

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Cee Lo Green Knows a Good Song

I’m not sure if it’s the tune or how well done the video is, but I love Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” video. It instantly puts me in a good mood. I even find myself swaying and snapping my fingers 🙂 So on this Monday, here’s to jammin’ out to good music, to whatever sets your day off on a good note, make it happen.

What song instantly gets you in a great mood? It’s Music Monday after all.

 

 

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The hidden power of smiling

When you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you look good. So…

SMILE!

TED Talk: The hidden power of smiling by Ron Gutman

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Learn, Grow and Adjust

On Sept. 15, 2009 I wrote a blog post on 35 Things To Do Before I’m 35. I learned about making such a list from a blog I’m fairly obsessed with, Stratejoy, and had a lot of fun creating it. I’m a firm believer in being flexible with yourself. And what I learned at a recent two-day work retreat business meeting (more on that later), was that people change/grow all the time.

So after a year and seven months, I know I’m not the same person now as when I created this list, so it’s time to take another look and adjust. Because what may have seemed important to me then, may not now, and that’s okay.

Do you have a list? Have you looked at it and adjusted? It’s liberating. Try it.

35 Things To Do Before I’m 35

1. Buy my own place – completed June 2009

2. Go skydiving

3. One big international trip a year – Ireland in 2009, no international trip in 2010, but did travel in 2010 to: San Antonio, Hollywood/Los Angeles, 2 trips to Washington, D.C., Austin, Madison, Indianapolis, Aspen, Pittsburgh, Columbia, MO and 2 trips to St. Louis)

4. Go to South by Southwest to mingle with bloggers and social media addicts – completed March 2010

5. Start my own social media marketing company

6. Hike all of at least one Colorado 14er (that’s a mountain above 14,000 feet elevation!)

7. Learn to snow shoe and go during the winter season – completed March 19, 2011

8. Run a 10K race at least once every year – Bolder Boulder 10K May 2008, Fans on the Field 10K September 2009, Platte River Half Marathon 13.1 miles March 2010

9. Get married and have a family

10. Go on an annual trip with my girls from college – Chicago August 2007, Lake of the Ozarks September 2008, St. Louis/Kansas City June and September 2009, Columbia/St. Louis October and December 2010, New Orleans July 2011

11. Complete my family tree with as many pictures as possible – have started this

12. Visit the seven Wonders of the World

13. Vacation in a place like Bora Bora where you stay in a hut above the crystal blue water

14. Paint my own piece – completed January 2011

15. Be recognized as a Forty Under 40 winner in Denver – Change to: Take on a more minimalist lifestyle decreasing the number of possessions I have, and focus more on relationships and experiences

16. Visit the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore

17. Throw a spooky Halloween party

18. Start a personal and professional blog – completed Sept. 13, 2009

19. Get a dog

20. Go backpacking in the Rocky Mountains

21. Learn how to make sushi

22. Take a photography class

23. Save $50,000 in savings

24. Read the autobiographies/biographies of key figures in our nation’s history including Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King and Thomas Edison

25. Make a Thanksgiving dinner all on my own

26. Read Jane Austen classics including Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion.

27. Tour the Napa Valley wine country with my family – planned for October 2011

28. Plant and grow a vegetable garden

29. Make my own pottery

30. Go with a group of friends on a house boat trip to Lake Powell

31. Volunteer at the Denver Art Museum or Denver Museum of Nature & Science

32. Take an art history class – Change to: Learn about different forms of art by visiting local art galleries and determine what art style I prefer

33. Cut and donate my hair to Locks of Love – still growing 🙂

34. Write a poem

35. Host a wine, chocolate and cheese tasting party

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Celebrate 85

There are moments in our lives where it’s more important to be there than anything else – past, present or future. One such occasion, my Grandma’s 85th birthday. I flew back to Pittsburgh for 4 days of celebration. We spent time with family, friends who are family, and family friends. You see, in one way or another, we’re all family.

The birthday dinner was decadent and included all my Grandma’s favorite dishes like…

Champagne and three kinds of caviar – so delicious

Three types of dinner rolls – a sweet roll, an orange frosted roll and a more regular roll (The picture isn’t the best quality, but the rolls were some of the best I’ve ever had, so much so that I had two helpings of each.)

Rack of lamb

And the finale… Whiskey Ice Box cake (made with Lady Fingers from Colorado, since Pittsburgh doesn’t have them). This was the lightest, most amazing cake I’ve had. In fact, it might be the cake I ask for when I celebrate my birthday later this year 🙂

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! I had a blast.

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Fight for Air Climb

There’s a race, well more like a self challenge, that I’d heard about from many around Denver. It’s called the Fight for Air Climb and it’s put on by the American Lung Association. Pretty awesome fundraiser, in fact this year they raised more than $372,700 to support lung health issues.

Did you know lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.? I was surprised to learn it’s right behind cancer and heart disease.

And what did registration get us… besides knowing we’re helping a great cause… the opportunity to climb the tallest building in the Rocky Mountain West – Republic Plaza – a 56-story stair climb. If that doesn’t make you appreciate the ability to use your lungs, I don’t know what does.

Here’s my journey climbing 56 floors. What you won’t see is how hard I was breathing, how much my lungs burned, and how I started running it, then battled to just keep climbing one stair at a time. Speaking of time, I finished in 16 minutes and 9 seconds. I couldn’t be happier!

The line of folks waiting to climb. Note we were joined by Denver’s finest firefighters, who actually climbed with all their gear, amazing, and they were fast!

Here we go. Camelback – check. Bib number – check. Ready to climb – hoo-rah!

22nd floor fun fact

Did you know…

At the top, reached 5,994 feet!

Did it! The view from the top.

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