I have gratitude today for...
* my meeting with Spogue & Company. I found I am confident in who and what I represent and that is so important when you are in sales.
* being able to afford dental treatments.
* Megan meeting me to pick out the flowers and invitations for the wedding!
* going to Teikoku for lunch.
* going back to Narberth to hang out with Megan and the kids for a while.
* Jess calling the dentist for me when my implant wouldn't stop bleeding.
* Andy's homemade pizzas for dinner.

I have gratitude today for...
* treating myself to a cheese steak today. I barely ate anything yesterday, had cramps and only ate half anyway!
* meeting with Gabrielle and expressing our appreciation for her hard work. It was nice to be able to give her a gift card to Nectar to say thank you.
* talking with Lorin about working for Suburban Life. She officially starts next week!
* going to a networking meeting tonight. You never know what will become of the people you meet down the road.
* American Idol- I think it's one of the best seasons so far!
* acknowledging my sleeping issues and trying to figure out what's going on. Most of the time it's that I can't stop thinking. Maybe journaling, reading, or making lists will help.

I have gratitude today for...
* that I am becoming more comfortable talking about Stream/Ignite.
* choosing to go to yoga over everything else I had to do tonight. I'm trying so hard to stick with it!
* listening to my body and reminding myself I need to eat more regularly; I sometimes feel dizzy or like I'm going to faint when my blood sugar is low.
* finally watching the movie "The Kids Are Alright".

I have gratitude today for...
* meeting Carlos from Coyote Crossing at the Ignite meeting.
* Andy coming to learn more about it tonight.
* dinner at Totaro's.

I have gratitude today for...
* WaWa Low-Fat Cappuccino
* making some good contacts at the home show.
* watching the Vita-Mix demo for the 100th time and finally taking the plunge and placing an order for one.
* Andy's homemade pizzas for dinner.
* catching up on Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Army Wives.

Taking the plunge!

I think I'm in love!

We've all been there. You see an infomercial and want to call the 800 # before they say "but wait, there's more!" Or, you're walking around Costco and you see a demo for some awesome 'something or other' and it takes more will power than you'd like to admit not to buy one on the spot. For me, it was the homeshow...year after year after year.

Now, let's talk about why I've found myself at one or more of the local home shows every year (almost) since 2006. I've worked in magazine and cable advertising for over five years, many of my clients have been home improvement oriented companies...they all exhibit at the home shows. I either go to visit clients, or go to find clients.  I question why people who don't have to be there would spend a beautiful sunny day at a home show...apparently people get really excited about free frisbees and chip clips.

It never fails, I find myself sucked into the demos. The magic mops, super absorbent towels, exercise equipment---these are the ones I watch for just a few minutes. As for the $2,000 pots & pans and the Vita-Mix; they've drawn me in for 15, 20 even sometimes 30 minutes. I stand there saying to myself "can this product possibly be worth the money?"

I've probably seen 8-10 Vita-Mix demonstrations. Assume I watched each one for 15 minutes (it's probably more like 20-30 minutes) and that's at least 2 hours of buying into the Vita-Mix hype. I tasted the samples. watched magic happen in that thing that looks like a blender but is presented as "so much more!" Every time I'd come home and read reviews and find nothing less than 5 stars no matter the source. Could this really be worth $400+?

After spending a Sunday afternoon in March distributing approximately 1,500 copies of Suburban Life magazine I willed myself to walk around and introduce myself to some of the exhibitors that could be potential advertisers. I rounded one of the corners and there it was, the Vita-Mix demo. It started with a sample of fruit juice, then salsa, then tortilla soup, then peach sorbet. My desire to buy this super-duper blender surged and I kept trying to tell myself I was crazy to even think about spending this kind of money on a blender. Albeit super-duper, it was still a blender and it cost a lot of money.

"It's not just a blender" the demo guy says, "it's a chopper, food-processor, dough maker, ice cream machine, juicer, blender-in-one. Think of all of the appliances you won't need to buy if you buy this one machine." He had a point. I've been working on our wedding registry and just added a number of the aforementioned appliances. They add up to well over $400. It's made in the US. It has an 8 year warranty.

The combination of the woman standing around the demo raving about the Vita-Mix she bought recently trying to convince her friend to buy one, my desire to incorporate more whole foods, fruits and vegetables into our diet, my desire to cut out processed foods as much as possible and the realization that I've been eyeing one of these for over 5 years made me do it.

Sign me up, I'm in. Here's my credit card. No looking back.

I took the plunge.

I have gratitude today for...
* a nice morning with Mom & Dad.
* my long talk with Debbie about the educational system, her layoff and possible outcomes. how she's feeling about the Michelle situation, friendship and what it means to be a good friend as an adult.
* my visit with Wendy, Ed, Sarah, Dean and Alison! She is such a cutie!! We talked about wedding stuff, Alison's birth story and made cookies.
* talking with Erin more about the wedding/being a bridesmaid/her being pregnant.
* going to look at bridesmaids dresses with Erin & Kelly. We found the one!
* yum Italian dinner with Andy, Kelly & Alex.
* Andy asking Alex to be in our wedding.
* a relaxing night watching the Flyers, baseball and The Office.
* looking through wedding magazines for unique ideas.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting stuff done in the office before my crazy day started.
* the nice guy at the warehouse that helped me get in to pick up magazines.
* a great meeting in Doylestown with Digital Forensics.
* getting to Yogaphoria early; it was nice to not be rushing for a change.
* attending the fantastic yoga class/seminar with Sean Corne. What a great birthday gift to share with Mom.
* dinner with Mom at Triumph Brewery.
* staying up late talking with Mom & Dad.
* remembering Erin today.

I have gratitude today for...
* letting myself sleep in this morning since I was up until 3:30am.
* Sophia picking up Primo's hoagies for lunch today.
* Bill coming with me to the "Gourmet Getaway" in Doylestown and making the best of it when I really didn't want to go.
* the gift card John gave me for Bacco Bistro so I could pick up dinner on the way home.
* the American Idol results show and Casey's reaction when the judge's decided to save him.

I have gratitude today for...
* lunch with Brian & Bill at Nectar today.
* talking with Megan this morning.
* catching up with Lorin on the way to Doylestown.
* seeing Karin at the Ignite meeting.
* running into Deig at the Ignite meeting and learning her step-mom is a senior director.
* getting an email about another possible sale.
* watching American Idol when I got home.

I have gratitude today for...
* talking with Andrea more about the music for the wedding.
* spending some time on LinkedIn updating my info and connections.

I have gratitude today for...
* catching up with Becky on Facebook chat
* getting through the work day when I was exhausted from my 6am drive.
* going to the Apple store to look at iPads with Andy.
* an easy Costco chicken dinner.
* making tentative plans with Jillian to visit them in May.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting the sale from my meeting on Wed. I knew it went well!
* lunch with John at Plaza Azteca and talking about the Ignite opportunity.
* nice weather driving to Avalon, and thinking about summer!
* taking a walk to the library and around Dune Dr.
* sitting out on the deck reading about the features on the Kindle, and about getting my Ignite business started.
* an awesome pizza from Via Mare for dinner.

6 months to go...

Wow, this is pretty crazy. Six months from now Andy & I will be married! I will be a Mrs! I can't believe we've been engaged for over three months and there's only six more to go before the Big Day. I am really excited, but in some weird way I don't want this time to go by too fast; because I know the closer we get, the sooner it will be over.

This is such an exciting, emotional and sometimes stressful time. We're trying to make people happy, we're trying not to overspend, we're trying to enjoy the individual moments because we'll never be able to get them back. There is still a lot to do...I was feeling like so much was done, but this week, thinking about the six month mark, made me think there is so much more to do! It's not a bad thing, all of the things on the "to do" list are fun details to take care of. We'll get there. :-)

I have gratitude today for...
* having a good meeting with a business that rarely advertises. I met them at the home show and I think they're going to do a cover!
* setting some appointments for wedding planning with the florist and invitations guy.
* mailing out our engagement thank you's.
* doing yoga on my own after work today.
* avoiding an accident today on Main St. I was very lucky.
* making plans with Kerry for next Friday night. It's been forever since we've hung out just me and her.

I have gratitude today for...
* the March magazines looking great!
* going to another challenging Pilates/yoga class tonight with Elizabeth. I'm not a big fan of the pilates part of class but I know it's good for me!
* having dinner made when I got home.
* watching the Flyers game tonight, they won!
* talking with Kelly about plans for the night before the wedding.
* having a lengthy gchat conversations with Debbie about some things she's dealing with right now (having to do with a mutual friend and friendship in general.)
* mailing Debbie a card to let her know I've been thinking of her.

I have gratitude today for...
* the massage clinic Andy & I attended today. It was a three hour seminar about massage techniques at Merritt Massage. Jennifer was great! Now I want to buy a massage bed.
* lunch with Andy at Gino's Burgers & Chicken. It's an old Philly chain that was just reborn. It was really good.
* finishing Season 5 of Entourage.
* slow-cooked and then BBQ'd ribs for dinner.
* reading a bunch of Ruminations e-mails (Aaron Karo). After all these years they still make me laugh.
* doing a bunch of research and sending out emails to Bed & Breakfast places in the area for the night before the wedding.

I have gratitude today for...
* starting my weekend off with a great yoga class at the gym.
* Kem & the girls running a little late so I could take a shower before going out with them.
* the new sunscreen face lotion I tried and love. Garnier Moisture RescueLightweight UV Lotion SPF 15. It's one of the first I've tried that actually doesn't feel greasy.
* lunch at Ruby's Diner with Kem, Edie & Molly. The girls thought the old-fashioned diner was pretty cool.
* finding the girls' flower girl dresses at the first store we went to. They're beautiful dresses and Edie & Molly looked so cute in them. I can't wait for September 17th!
* getting the long overdue oil change and tire balancing done on my car. Also for Tires Plus warning me about the condition my battery was in---so I had that replaced as well. My little Honda is almost at 100,000 miles!
* the short nap I took on the couch this afternoon.
* a relaxing evening at home with Andy.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting a lot of work done at the office today.
* bringing in another front cover sale, my biggest to date!
* doing yoga on my own at home. I went to the gym thinking there was a yoga class late this afternoon but I misread the schedule.
* having the evening to myself at home. It was nice eating leftovers, getting the laundry done and watching "Our America" & "Master Class" episodes on OWN.
* the life I am blessed to live everyday. My family, friends, home, car, savings, safety, freedom, privileges...I could go on forever. World events like today's earthquake/tsunami in Japan reinforce how lucky I am for so many things in my life. The news coverage has been so heartbreaking, it seems these disasters are too common these days.

I have gratitude today for...
* sleeping in and having a leisurely morning.
* talking with Erin and catching up about wedding details. She also (finally) told me she is pregnant!!! I am so happy for her & Bill. She still wants to be in the wedding, even though she will be due less than 3 weeks from the wedding date!
* more exciting basketball games today.
* the awesome chicken picatta dinner I made for Andy & me.
* finishing Season 6 of Entourage. I'm going to be sad when there are no more to watch.

I have gratitude today for...
* being able to fall back asleep for a few hours after I was up from 3-6am. I couldn't sleep, and Andy snoring didn't help. I went onto the futon and watched a few episodes of Ellen until I fell asleep.
* making Sunday breakfast with Andy. We made breakfast potatoes, bacon and had grapefruit and bananas. We rarely make breakfast on the weekends so it was a nice treat.
* using my birthday free pizza offer from Tony A's for lunch today. We went to Andy's mom's house to return her car and get the mail. It was nice to sit outside and eat lunch. Andy spent some time cleaning up the backyard and I read on the deck.
* the adorable Vera Bradley makeup bag I bought today using my birthday certificate. I love how all of the my favorite places send great birthday offers these days. I ended up only having to pay $10 for it!
* working with Mrs. C to set up her TS fundraiser for the Miles for Myeloma Philly 5K in April. We hit a few kinks but worked them out and now I know how to set up fundraisers/parties using Facebook.

I have gratitude today for...
* Ed & John recognizing the team for an awesome sales round in today's meeting, and for recognizing me for my individual accomplishments this month.
* lunch with Sophia, Beth & John at Plaza Azteca. I was excited to tell them we would like them to work for us after their internships end if they should choose to stay.
* it being Thursday when I kept thinking it was Monday.
* finally catching up with Lorin Gussard.
* talking with Mom and Kelly tonight.
* Debbie sharing with me the news that she is probably going to be laid off. I knew when I saw the instant message "hey..." that something was wrong. It is really sad, what's going on in education these days. She is one of the most respected teachers in her school but will be one of the first to go because of how long she's been there. It's a disgrace. I hope in some way I was able to put her a little more at east. I remember what it felt like when I was laid off from LifeStyle, but somehow we all find a way to move forward.

I have gratitude today for...
* the cute little alarm clock that is named James waking me up again this morning.
* perfect weather for our last day in Cocoa Beach.
* receiving an email that a hospital is moving forward with the front cover I pitched last week; my highest cover sale so far!
* walking with Megan, Andy and the boys to the playground; spending time with them on the slides, swings, etc.
* Jeffrey's excitement about seeing Discovery land. We all went to the beach and definitely heard the shuttle break the sound barrier. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see it land. (We think it came in from another direction.)
* the message John left to tell me how proud he was about my sale. After the last two days it was really nice to have something good happen (work related.)
* indulging with a turkey club for lunch followed by a hot fudge sundae (again, I know!) Last day of vacation...
* spending the last two hours we had before it was time to pack our things on the beach with Andy.
* having time to take a shower before heading to the airport.
* Mrs. Roth giving us a ride to the airport.
* We were hoping our flight was oversold, no luck there. We were, however, bumped to first-class which was a nice surprise.
* arriving home safely to Philadelphia.
* John hooking us up with free parking.
* Papa John's still being open so we could order a pizza for a late dinner.

I have gratitude today for...
* waking up to James knocking on the door saying "Aunt Teen, Aunt Teen". He is so adorable, I love this age!
* getting up early (before 7am!) and going grocery shopping with Megan & Jeffrey.
* celebrating "Fat Tuesday" with a turkey club at 9am.
* having a bit of time to read my Kindle outside in the backyard.
* perfect weather on the beach this afternoon.
* keeping it together when one of my ads almost completely fell apart this afternoon. I can usually handle the stress but I was so annoyed these problems, that could have been prevented, were ruining the couple days we have left in FL. This definitely hasn't been the most relaxing vacation, but I still feel lucky to be here at all! 
* hot fudge sundaes for dessert, it was as good as going to an ice cream shop!
* being able to sit with Megan and load music onto Jeff's iPod. I like being able to share my music library with other people.

I have gratitude today for...
* Andy going to the store and cleaning up the house while I worked the whole day.
* accepting there was nothing I could do about the issues that came up with some advertisers today. I did everything I could to make sure I didn't spend the majority of my time working while we were in FL but today ended up being a full work day inside on the computer and phone. :-( I do feel confident that everything will be approved be early tomorrow.
* the great guy I have in my life. I am very lucky and can't wait to marry him.
* getting some of the engagement thank you notes written out.
* Megan, Jeffrey, James and Mrs. Roth arriving safely to Orlando and for Andy picking them up from the airport.
* dinner coming out perfectly since I didn't have all of the ingredients or a recipe. Chicken & steak marsala hand mashed potatoes and carrots. Everyone loved it!
* playing with the kids and getting to spend some quality time with them.
* finding "America's Next Great Restaurant" On-Demand. I enjoyed watching it.

I have gratitude today for...
* bagels from Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, thanks Andy!
* laying in the backyard reading mags and talking with Jenn for a bit this morning while the guys worked on the car.
* Kevin & Jenn following us to Sears so we could get the battery replaced.
* using the time we had to wait at the mall in Macy's; we added some great items to our registry.
* lunch at Coconuts. It ended up being warm and sunny most of the time we were there. The food was good and we had some frozen drinks for dessert.
* spending the rest of the afternoon talking, listening to music and having a few beers (well, not Jenn) in the backyard. It was a little chilly to go to the beach.
* good laughs watching the Dave Matthews SNL clip and the Cliff Lee/Jayson Werth YouTube video.
* dinner at Slow & Low. The food was incredible, we can't wait to go back. Gotta love southern BBQ.

I have gratitude today for...
* Andy going to the grocery store this morning before I woke up to get what we need for the few days we're here.
* not letting the dead car battery situation get to use after AAA was out twice to jump the Volvo.
* Kevin & Jenn making the drive from Orlando to Cocoa Beach to visit.
* a nice afternoon; BBQ'ing for lunch, spending a couple of hours on the beach (although it was a little chilly) and watching the Villanova game (even though they lost again.)
* grilled steaks with mushroom & herb sauce, baked potatoes, salad and carrots. Yum! I love cooking for friends.
* a relaxing evening eating ice cream and looking at bridesmaids dresses on-line with Jenn.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting errands done this morning (CVS, bank, etc.) since I knew today was going to be nuts at work.
* most of my ads coming in before I had to leave for FL.
* lunch with John @ Totaros. We sat at the bar and talked with Andrew the whole time, it was a really nice break from the craziness that is today.
* arriving to the airport with plenty of time and not having to rush.
* watching Entourage on the plane, it made the flight time go by quickly. There were times Andy & I were hysterically laughing.
* having a few days of warm weather and relaxation to look forward to.
* Jeff & Megan sharing their home in Florida with us.

I have gratitude today for...
* letting myself sleep until 9; I've been feeling so tired this week and haven't been sleeping well.
* handling the rush/stress the best I can of a huge deadline and issue, and sometime uncooperative people. This is my least favorite time of the month!
* being able to sell the Flyers tickets last minute for tonight's game. I love going to games but I did not want to go tonight.
* have the means to offer help to a friend that was greatly needed. I know it really made a difference to that person.
* Lisa's yoga class tonight.
* watching American Idol tonight---I was happy with the selection of the Top 13.
* having time to pack for FL and getting almost everything ready so I don't have to do it in the morning.

I have gratitude today for...
* lunch at Plaza Azteca. They have the best salsa!
* coming home at 5pm for the first time in a while and enjoying my evening--trying not to add in too much work and watching some DVR's Oprah episodes.
* dinner at Totaros with Mrs. Roth, Jeff & Megan and Andy to celebrate his birthday.
* being able to go to Totaros so often. I love that it's a family owned restaurant with an owner that truly cares about his customers and the food he serves.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting this message from Viki this morning; "soup gone, ziti gone, roast beef almost gone, thanks again for the food it was awesome." Love it!
* another great yoga class tonight.