A Little Christmas Cheer

Why I Could Never Be a Consultant

I'm slowly realizing that I am not one of those people who loves to travel. With that realization comes the knowledge that I can confidently scratch "work as a consultant" off of my "I wonder if I'd be good at ______" list. It's really no skin off my back, but I do wish that I loved being a jet setter a bit more than I do to simply make traveling something of excitement and not of labor.

If you're anything like me, your travel begins with a list of what you need and what you might need. Why does my might list always weigh 20 lbs more than my need list? Do I really need 12 outfit options for a 4 day trip? Probably not. 5 pairs of shoes for a long weekend? Survey says...nope. Do I really need a sleeping mask, sleepy time pills and a travel size fan just in case I cannot sleep while in the hotel? Still guessing no, BUT what if I get there, I need them, and I left them at home? The sheer possibility of these questions and mights is why my suitcase weighs more than someone who is trying to smuggle a small child into the country (which by the way, I am not, if you are airport security and read this post. Thanks).

So now that I've conquered packing, it's on to the airport. Although I wish I was the type of person who can pull up a stool in an airport restaurant or grab a beverage at Harry Carey's while waiting for my flight. Again, sadly, it's a no go for this gal. I'm more of the grab a burger and fries at McD's and anxiously await any flight announcements at the gate. Even if the lay-over is 2.5 hours, you'll definitely find me holding down the fort at gate E15. Alone and sans frothy beverage in the off chance that somehow my gate has changed, I've been bumped from the flight due to my heavy bag, etc...

Lastly, I can tell that I am no jet setter based on my traveling attire. Again, I wish I was a fashionable frequent flier who loved to rock boots, belts, and blazers in order to look my very best while flying, but again, it's a no go. I don't want to have to be the women frantically running from concourse 1 to 2 in 3 inch heels, nor do I want to disrobe before entering the security line. Flats, no belt, etc...is how this chick rolls her suitcase to and fro. Thank God I am not a celebrity or I'd forever be the slouchy celeb wearing jeans, flops and a v-neck T in LAX via US Weekly.

Maybe my 2011 resolution should be to work on my traveling techniques and jet setter attitude. If not, I'll see you at gate E15 in '11 with my burger. Text me if you want me to grab you one too;)

Keeping Me Going

Chris Tomlin's new song "Our God" is helping to keep my head up, my eyes forward, and my heart hopeful today when I'm not feeling so great.

Give it a whirl, it just might lift your spirits too. And go ahead, crank up the volume. You know yo want too.

Things I Was Glad to Come Home to After Nicaragua!

• Drinkable tap water


• Not having to take bottled water into the bathroom to brush my teeth


• Less heat and humidity. Geez, I forget how hot it is there!!! We ain't seen nothing, Charleston!


• No gallo pinto for 365 days (no more rice and beans, por favor)!


• My dog.


• My bed and my duvet! Sleeping with: 1) bugs in your bed on the last 2 nights= not cool. 2) sleeping with only a paper thin sheet while a fan blows on you= Brrrrr. Even in 90 degree temps it's chilly.


• Sharing stories with my family and those that ask.


• Clean, dry clothes.


• The luxuries of paved roads, houses not made out of tin and dirt floors, etc...that I tend to take for granted.

Things That I Was Not Excited to Come Back to:

• Having to wear make-up.


• Having to do my hair.


• Having to pick out clothes every day.


• Everyday tasks that I have to do, but that don't contribute anything to my life.


• The readjustment phase. I hoped it got easier each time. I'm learning that is just not so.


• Figuring out how to hold close everything I learned there, and not let the faces and names drift away.


• Being away from that beautiful country and those beautiful people for 365 days.


• Leaving behind Pio Quinto! A dessert that I am convinced the Lord himself created for our pleasure!

Work Jams

Do these songs make anyone else work harder while sitting in a cubicle, office, etc…?

• Love the Way You Lie- Eminem ft. Rihanna
• Not Ready to Make Nice- Dixie Chicks
• Pretty much any and all 3 Doors Down songs, but these are my fave work jams:
  o Duck and Run
  o It’s Not My Time
  o Right Where I Belong
  o Behind Those Eyes
• Shiny Toy Guns- Major Tom
• Bang The Drum All Day- Todd Rundgren
• Bad Day- Daniel Powter
• Gunpowder and Lead- Miranda Lambert
• Day N Nite- Kid Cudi

What songs do you crank up to crank out some good, cubicle productivity?

Pull Up Some Couch- A TV Critique w/ Britt

Show: The Bachelor Pad
Time: Mondays at 8pm
Setting of Critique: My couch, Merlot and Skinny Cow Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream in hand, sweat pants welcome.

Let me just start by giving ABC a big standing ovation for giving all of us Bachelor addicts a fix immediately after Ali's season ended! How merciful you are, Chris Harrison.

In my humble opinion, The Bachelor Pad, quite possibly could surpass both of it's predecessors. Who doesn't love watching some of the same old crazies wave their crazy flag loudly and proudly, yet again? Didn't they learn anything the first go round?! Thankfully for us, they apparently did not and must not have parents to yank a not in their chain and tell them to wear underwear the second time around on national television. Bad for them, quite entertaining for those of us at home. Plus, upping the anty with ridiculous competitions and a cash prize of $250K...could this get any better? Cast get ready cuz I'm pretty certain there's a bus in your near future and a lot of folks are about to be thrown under it!

I think the best part of the 2 hour premier was watching characters that we "thought" we knew and loved start to show their true colors. Would I have swooned for Tool bag Jesse K had he declared his middle name was "lie and deceive" on his season with Jillian? Um, that'd be a no. Would I have fallen in love with Tenly had she acted like a 5 year old on the first day of big kid school on Jake's season? Again, no thank you. This show will surely bring light to the fact that no one is perfect (well, maybe Kypton still is) and no matter how well you can hide it for awhile, eventually it's gonna come out and it ain't gonna be purty!

So sit back, grab your sweats and a glass of wine, and pull up some couch. We're on the verge of one brilliant, train wreck of a show and I couldn't be more excited!

If Budweiser Made a Commercial About My Office

"Today we support you, Mrs. Office Break Room Interior Designer. Without your commitment to "improving" our lunch room atmosphere, we might still be sitting in that tiny room on lower, more comfortable chairs that made a lot less noise when you sat down. Whether it's the painting you pulled out of your yard sale pile, or the new baking tower with zero storage, we tip our hats and staplers to you for taking an ugly room and making it hideous. Should you rest and stop ordering non-matching and impractical furniture and actually do your job? No way. Somewhere there's gotta be just one more cabinet that you could squeeze into that 9 by 9 room. We know you won't stop until none of us can fit in there and we all have to eat in the library where our coworkers knit. So keep spending our money and pushing us further into the lobby and we'll keep raising our glass to you, Mrs. Office Break Room Interior Designer!"

My Mom is Tougher than Your Mom

I've always thought my mom was awesome, but now I have pictures and documentation to back up my thoughts. After waking at 4am, riding a bus to the first of 4 planes they'd take to Chicago, and ending her journey on one more bus to our hometown, my mom is safely back from Haiti this week. Changed, I'm sure. But safely back at home tired, overwhelmed, and dirty.


If you've read my blog in the past, you most likely know that I wanted to go to Haiti but was not able to make it on a team. I was disappointed, but have been able to share in the journeys of Rob and now my mom which has been awesome to experience the country through their eyes, camera lens, and hearts. They are both tough cookies for traveling to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, especially after a horrific natural disaster, but my mom definitely impressed me along her journey.


In short, mom's journey included: an 8 hour bus ride on a tap tap with no AC, horrible roads, and a flooded river that needed to be crossed by bus, she slept on concrete in a tent on the roof of a building for safety, used showers that I wouldn't even want Wrigley to shower in, helped build a playground, a boat, and a market place, helped pass out 3,000 pairs of shoes, and last but not least taught a few Haitian children the Cupid Shuffle. Any woman who's willing to sleep on a concrete rooftop and not have access to a mirror for 7 days is a rock star in my book. And I'm so proud to call that rock star, Mom. Keep rocking out for the well being of others, Mom. I think you're one bad Mama-Jama!

PS...My Dad rocks, too! Stay tuned for his story...

Proof that God Loves Us...

...and wanted to knock our socks off every once in awhile.



There are certain things and times when I am brought to a screeching halt by either beauty or sheer amazement, and since I am in a list making mood lately I felt like sharing them today:

1. Lightning Bugs. Seriously?! They are so pretty and show you that sometimes God had "oh yeah, and you thought that was cool? Watch this..." moments. Love em!


2. Cotton Candy Sunsets. How can you not look at those pale pink, purple and orange swirls and not believe that someone so creative and loving made them and us?


3. Mountains. He didn't have to make the peaks and the valleys but He did and they are breathtaking.


4. The Ocean. How can something so powerful, raging, and larger and farther than the eye can see be so calming and soothing at the same time.


5. Laughing til it hurts and you can't breathe. Nothing has ever felt better.


6. Ultrasounds and seeing someone's face for the very first time.


7. McGriddles. Straight from the Lord himself.

Guilty Pleasures

I don't have many vices in this life. I don't smoke, don't do drugs (Just say NO!), only drink on occassion, am not a work-out junkie like some folks, etc... BUT, I do have guilty pleasures that I'm beginning to think are becoming vices, God bless em.

How would I ever get through the day without:

• The Real Housewives of New York reruns
• My afternoon coke or Mr. Pibb; can=guilty pleasure, fountain drink=full on vice, Y'all
• These kettle chips. My breathe is shot for the rest of the night but I am fine with that, sadly.
• Milk
• Wrigley's afterwork cuddle sessions
• Driving my arm out of the window at night during the summer. This makes me very happy.
• Zac Brown Tunes
• Playlist.com
• Campagne simply because you need a little bubbly
• So You Think You Can Dance's Kent and Lauren. Love. These. Teens.