a phrase i've latched onto.

makes me feel better a lot lately. 

the past 10 days in 10 letters: e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g.

{watching last week's sunrise in denver, colorado} 

work has been a little nuts. 

early mornings - long days - late nights.

not nearly enough hours in the day.

come friday night, i finally crashed. i slept for 12+ hours.

saturday morning i woke up to a fresh pot of coffee & a 10 o'clock massage appointment. 

i feel like a new person. refreshed. happy. anxiety levels back down.

...

when did we go from carefree college kids to full-blown career people? 

the kind of people who are in charge of strategically advising people on how to spend enormous sums of money. 

the people co-workers and clients lean on for ideas, problem solving, managing timelines & execution.
pretty surreal still (& stressful) if you think about it too much.
guess we're officially grown ups now. 

a tradition + a toast.

danny and i have a long-standing tradition when either one of us has a work review or big career move. 

as hard as it is, we don't fill the other person in on anything until the end of the day. 

 we immediately meet at postino, belly up to the bar, order a drink and then give the other person the full scoop. 

it's one of my favorite traditions. it builds such anticipation and is much more exciting to dish in-person vs. trying to whisper over the phone. this way, we have each other's undivided attention and time for the play-by-play details. 

this past week, it was danny's turn and it was a gooood one. so good, we kept on celebrating long after the sun set. 

i'm officially the proud wife of the new director of project management! congrats, d. you rock. 

it's wednesday. a camel's most favorite day.

there's something about this commercial that makes me giggle each time i watch it. 

maybe it's the "mike mike mike mike".... because there's always that guy in the workplace.

regardless, happy hump day. 

take your pooch to work day.

i saw an (almost) meeting free day on my calendar & decided it'd be the chance for huntie to join me at the office. he was so good! (except for one little security breach with the mailman). everyone loved having him there -- especially me. our office has a great outdoor courtyard that's totally enclosed, which made it super easy. i took him to a couple of meetings & he just stretched out on the rug & chewed his bone -- barely knew he was there (minus a few frenchie farts).

here's a look at hunter's first day on the job as director of canine marketing at blind society.

on the brink of the next big idea in rawhide bones.

added a nylabone (his favorite!) to my typical meeting supplies.

chillin by my desk. "mom... when's lunch?"

board room style. mr. huntie directing meetings. watching people walk by.

... it's almost 7pm, mom. i'm exhausted. can we go home now? this work stuff is tough.

super bowl sunday is coming...

did you know they're fan-made? and did you know that you have a say in which one will be aired during the big game? danny and i watched this year's five finalists and there were two commercials that made us laugh so much, we watched them twice. can you guess which ones?

doritos crash the super bowl commercials: watch & vote here.

this promotion is extra cool to me because my fellow advertising girl, carlye, managed this account and promotion at her ad agency in texas, which landed her an awesome trip to the Super Bowl last year! 

watching these proves the old marketing theory... babies and animals reign king.

career congrats package.

during my first week on the new job, i came home to find the sweetest and most unexpected package on my doorstep.

thoughtful and crafty rachel put together this "congrats on your next chapter" pack just for me. take a look. 

pens & notebook: "she's a dreamer, a doer & thinker. she sees possibilities everywhere." 

complete with a handwritten note: for all those big ideas.

natural bath treats: to relax after a long and hectic first week.

a sweet card & bottle of bubbly.

it came at the perfect time - the end of my good, but totally overwhelming, first week. as it is, advertising/public relations is fast-paced, and this was baptism by fire. i'm in a new role with a whole new set of responsibilities. there are new names to learn. different protocols. unfamiliar clients and businesses to learn about. hours of meetings and reading strategy documents and plans. and the thing that threw me for the biggest loop was working professionally on a Mac operating system. i've an Apple girl at home, but iMail, iCal, iContacts, etc... i kinda wanted to pull my hair out a few times, but now just two weeks in, i'm loving it and totally off to the races (phew!

you're a great friend, rachel. 

thanks so much for your support and thoughtful gesture.

---

p.s. if you're ever looking for an awesome event planner - rachel's your gal.
check her out here.

my fortune cookie spoke the truth.

right when i thought i had everything in control and my career train was comfortably cruising along, i got a call.

it wasn't something i was looking for or saw coming, but it was worth listening. and after many subsequent conversations, pros & cons lists and sleepless nights.... i decided to take a leap of faith and steer my professional train down a new track.

it's bittersweet. it's exciting. it's nerve wrecking. and it wasn't a decision that i took lightly, but i'm totally ready for this new experience. for a new set of challenges and even more opportunities to learn and grow.

so wish me luck... today's my first day at the new gig. 

oh, bic! thanks for the laughs. what are you thinking?

 

I saw this in one of my daily marketing emails and I have to share. I got the biggest laugh out of it. "Bic for Her" pens, which are actually described as "beautifully smooth" in the technical specs as being "designed to fit comfortably in a woman's hand" with an "attractive barrel design available in pink and purple," are getting some hilarious reviews on Amazon.com and other consumer sites. Real reviews below:

 

—When I saw these I just had to have them, so I asked my Husband to buy them for me. He refused, as he said that owning a pen might make me Think, and then have Ideas Of My Own. Then I might start to Write, which would take time away from my wifely duties such as Cooking, Cleaning, and Bearing Children. Of course he was Absolutely Right, none of these tasks require a pen, and so I have to give these one star.

 

—Oh. My. God. I've been doing it all wrong. There was me thinking I didn't need to worry about whether my writing implement sufficiently reflected my gender. Thank you so much Bic for showing me the error of my ways. Perhaps Bic will also bring out a new range of pink (or purple) feminine spanners, screwdrivers, electric drills and angle grinders so that I can carry out my job as a bicycle mechanic without further embarrassing myself? Luckily my male colleagues have managed to keep their disapproval of my use of their masculine tools to themselves. I'm so ashamed. And re-educated as to my place in society. Thanks again Bic!

 

—I bought this pen (in error, evidently) to write my reports of each day's tree felling activities in my job as a lumberjack. It is no good. It slips from between my calloused, gnarly fingers like a gossamer thread gently descending to earth between two giant redwood trunks.

 

—This pen is great. I bought it for all my female friends and relatives. It enabled them, finally, to write things (although they may not yet know to do so on paper; but you can only expect so much, really). I thought they were just a bit slow. My mother, a hard-working woman who raised twelve kids single-handedly whilst doing all the ironing (as nature intended), was furtively abashed by her illiteracy. Long would she gaze upon her husband and sons' scrawlings and would dedicate five minutes a day (which she really should have spent making sandwiches) to pray that one day she would be granted the ability to create such scribbles of her own. She's still a little slow on the uptake, but this product has definitely helped start the ball rolling. We tried to give her men's pens but she used to rip the cartridges out and drink the ink. Typical woman. Anyway, it's good that BIC are finally doing something to aid the plight of women. Hopefully a range of 'for her' paperclips is on the horizon - my wife has an awful time keeping her recipes together.

 

—I tried these on a whim, and I have to say I wasn't very impressed. The applicator mechanism is far too fiddly, and the plastic tampon inside far too thin (not to mention uncomfortable and non-absorbant) - I'm sure there must be a knack to using them, but I couldn't find it. They also stained my knickers blue for some reason. I really wanted to like these, but it's back to pads for me.

a day of firsts for people we love.

hi, i'm alive.

it's pretty sweet how the texts & emails start coming from friends & family when i don't blog or communicate for a few days.... especially following a very blog worthy girls weekend. apparently people do read this thing.

"are you okay? where are you?"

hello, all. i'm alive. i'm well. i'm just insanely busy at work and it all started the second i landed back in phoenix. like, i don't really remember the last time when my inbox, phone log or outlook calendar looked like this. #brainfried.

let's just say, i can add crisis communication public relations to my resume. for reals.  

danny gets a gold star for having food & wine on the coffee table when i get home. i eat, sleep and then push restart.

lots of fun photos from my getaway girls weekend plus other updates coming soon. xx

{this has been me & my world lately}



daily dose of vitamin d.

a huge perk of my new office space is my enormous just-for-me window. i love having so much sunshine pouring into my office throughout the day. aren't my little chairs, pillows & plant so cute? great space.

starting a new chapter.

after more than nine weeks of not working, i headed back to the old nine-to-five routine this week.

i've had a wonderful sabbatical. i consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity (thanks largely to the support and encouragement of my husband and family) to take time off from work to focus on myself and the things i wanted to do - every. single. day.

in the beginning i was a little unsure of what my days would look like and wondered if i'd get lonely, but that quickly subsided. i managed to stay super busy and cross so much off my list... i took new workout classes during the day, i skipped frozen microwave lunches and made big salads for lunch, i worked on this blog, i took a sewing class, i organized the entire house (the label maker def came out), i cleaned out my drawers, practiced my photography, started and completed craft projects, finished a few digital scrapbooks, spent many of my days hanging out at local coffee shops (i had always wondered what that would feel like), put a blanket in the backyard and read books in the sunshine in the middle of the day, took hunter for daily walks, met girlfriends for coffee, lunch & happy hours, and sometimes i was just plain lazy... the freedom was absolutely glorious and refreshing. it was unlike any feeling i've had as an adult. it took a little while to sink in that I got to decide what i was going to do with my days - not just two a week, but every single day. pretty awesome. it was similar to the feeling i had at 17, just after i'd moved away for college, and realized that i was in control of my life, schedule and choices. surreal. if you ever have the chance to take some time for yourself, i highly recommend it.

after exploring a few opportunities, i accepted a position at a marketing and communications agency in scottsdale and am getting back into the swing of things at an office. new co-workers, new clients, new challenges, new experiences, new routines. it's gonna be good. change is good.

{via}

this just in... according to forbes.com.

see the full article here.

today is friday, december 16th.

it's a day i'll remember.

its been real, but will soon be a big blurry memory. 

a memory made up of friendly smiles, encouraging words, mixed emotion & people's actions and choices. 

something to think about this weekend.

i saw this a few months ago and it instantly spoke to me.

it's so true. don't you agree?

considering we spend the vast majority of our day/week/year working, 

we really should enjoy what we do.

what is it that you love to do? 

if you could do anything, what would it be?  

harder question than you think, huh?

annual horror classic.

as mentioned here, my company has a lot of fun with our halloween's "horror classic" bowling event. this year we randomly assigned teams and it was up to each team to come up with a theme - for legit prizes of course. on friday the awesome costumes were revealed before an afternoon or beers and bowling. it was my favorite horror classic and i had fun being a gnome. i thought it turned out pretty damn cute, plus it's super comfy. happy halloween!

 

 {angela the haboob & me the garden gnome}

{an arizona haboob and weather newscaster. remember the haboob (here)?}

 {the "gutter gnomes" team}

{mail order brides}

 {white trash wedding party. the bride's baby bump is real!}

 {roller derby girls}

{dancing with the stars rejects}

{sheriff joe arpaio and his chain gang}

{the winning team... these statues are in the lawn of our company's high rise building}

{ben, the photographer statue and his homemade cardboard camera}

 

{highest female bowling score - for the second year in a row. $125 spa gift card}

because sometimes a lean cuisine at your desk just doesn't cut it.

....so you escape the office with a friend for a little fresh air and a frozen yogurt.  

coconut with walnuts for angela. vanilla, tart boysenberry & peanut butter chips for me.

travelin' man.

phoenix -- las vegas -- phoenix -- los angeles -- phoenix -- flagstaff -- phoenix -- denver -- phoenix

that's been danny's schedule since sunday. sure people travel for work all the time, but i think the remarkable part is that he's been home every night. they've been late arrivals, but i'll take it. last flight home at night and the first flight out the next morning. awesome for me, but i'm sure exhausting for him.

needless to say he's been really busy with work... traveling lots of miles and burning the midnight oil when he's in town - but you'd never know it. his ability to balance work/life/family reminds me of my dad - he never comes home super cranky or too stressed out. instead, he shifts gears and focuses on me and huntie. his unwavering work ethic and ability to balance is one of the things i love and admire most about him.

a perfect example of his balancing skills...  on tuesday ting worked until 8:45pm when i picked him up for a concert, we went to the concert, and within five minutes of getting home (around midnight) he was already back in our kitchen working on some things he needed to get done before morning. rockstar.

for his sake, i'm hoping this weekend is nice and relaxing. he deserves it.

and the oscar goes to...

I love the Academy Awards. I love awards shows in general but the Oscars take the cake for me with the Grammys a close second. I that these shows are always on a Sunday... it's the perfect day to make snacks, lounge on the couch, watch E!'s red carpet special and battle with Ting as we guess in each category. It should be extra fun this year since we've seen a lot of the movies - 8/10 for Best Picture along with a handful of other nominees (we added Exit Through The Gift Shop to our list last night). We def have our favorites (King's Speech, True Grit, Social Network, Black Swan & The Kids Are All Right) and least favorite (Animal Kingdom - sorry Aussie friends).

This year, I organized my company's Oscar Pool. Here's the nifty guessing sheet... I have everyone's guesses and will be scoring throughout the show to see who will take home the $50 pot. An extra bit of fun for tonight.

happy sunday & happy academy awards watching.