I have gratitude today for...
* getting up early to get ready for the fundraiser and meeting some really nice people today.
* chicken tortilla soup in the Vita-Mix for lunch.
* meeting up with Julie & Andy at The Ugly Moose and trying the Happy White Rabbit beer. 8.9%!!
* going to Bourbon Blu and seeing some fun music.
* Andy driving us home.

I have gratitude today for...
* my health, family, friends, and life in general. Today was the memorial service for Melissa and it was heartbreaking. She left her parents, brothers, sister, husband, family and friends much too soon--so many people that love her and miss her.
* spending the day at Pat & Joyce's with everyone. It was nice remembering Melissa, talking with Chris & Jess and Tim & Kristen and everyone else there.
* finding out Deig will be renting a house in Avalon for the whole summer!
* finding out Meggan Reagan is pregnant!
* the really nice email from Rachel catching me up on everything that's happening with them.

I have gratitude today for...
* living close to my office. I hate traffic and I'm thankful I don't have to deal with it everyday.
* a good meeting with Bravo Marble & Granite.
* our going away lunch for Beth at Bertucci's.
* catching up on Oprah this afternoon when I had to leave the office since there was no internet.

I have gratitude today for...
* feeling a little bit better today and finding a way to motivate myself.
* an early lunch at The Great American Pub.
* lots of laughs about "Bishop Tutu and his big rock" (aka the person that we think robbed our office.)
* sending out the email about the Melanoma fundraiser I'm doing this Saturday in memory of Melissa and the responses I received.
* getting myself to do the elliptical for 1 hr 15 min today!
* watching The Voice and American Idol. I just love these singing shows!
* Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage- yum!
* the texts from Dad rooting for the Flyers.
* chatting with Viki on Facebook.

I have gratitude today for...
* no one getting hurt when our office was robbed. Luckily it happened overnight when no one was there.
* this beautiful day!
* talking some things out with Mom that really needed to be discussed. Sometimes I feel really bad because I feel like I disappoint her. How to find the time to visit and call more? I have to do that!
* hanging out in FDR park before the game.
* seeing Pat & Shawn at the Flyers game.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting through the day, it was a long one.
* lunch at Plaza Azteca.
* going to pilates/fusion and doing my best to focus.

I have gratitude today for...

* doing the elliptical this morning and watching Glee.
* the awesome fruit smoothie I made after my workout.
* a beautiful afternoon after a rainy morning. Megan & I went for a walk with James and then went to the playground so he could run around.
* the yum chicken tortilla soup I made before our taco dinner.
* Jeffrey & James's excitement over dying Easter eggs.
* a night out in Manayunk with Andy, Julie and her friend Tracey to see Second Majesty. Good times at Bourbon Blue!

I have gratitude today for...
* a great meeting with an advertiser that I almost gave up on after trying to get somewhere for 8 months. Today he bought a front cover for $3,500. It was a great lesson to never give up if you think there is a chance something can happen.
* spending the day with Kelly, Mom & Dad in Philly. We went to The Kimmel Center and saw some of the things going on from the Philly Arts Festival. We got a pizza for lunch from Lorenzo's and walked through the Italian Market. I'm in love with the spice store!
* going to Jeff & Megan's for dinner and the Flyers game. It was a fun time even though the Flyers lost :-(

I have gratitude today for...
* seeing all of the support Chris has during such a difficult time in his life. I just can't imagine going through what he is going through right now.
* lunch with Sophia & Beth at Whole Foods. We sat on the roof top deck, the fresh air and sun were so nice, even if it was a little breezy.
* the 3 mile walk I took this afternoon. It felt good to be outside and it gave me some time to myself.

I have gratitude today for...

 * my life
 * my body
 * my health
* my family
* my friends
* the example Melissa lived by---She lived every day to it's fullest, even throughout her tough battle with cancer. I admired how she and Chris still traveled, went to concerts, went camping and did all of the things they love to do together. She did not stop living even when she knew things weren't going well. She didn't give up. She believed she would beat this awful disease.
* deciding to meet up with Mom, Dad and Kelly on Friday to spend the afternoon in Philly.

* watching the Flyers game tonight with Andy and Mrs. Roth.

I have gratitude today for...
* finding out the happy news that Tim & Elizabeth are expecting another baby in December!
* everyone getting their measurements to Kelly so we can order the dresses.
* my massage at the National Academy of Massage this afternoon. I haven't had one since December and it was great!
* a wonderful dinner with Lori at Ristorante San Marco. We seem to pick an earlier meeting time each time we get together and still run out of time. We were the first people there and last people to leave. The dinner, company and conversation were priceless.

I have gratitude today for...
* the really nice email Mom sent this morning to Kelly & me about how much she enjoyed the weekend.
* lunch at Winberie's with an ad agency I hope to work with in the future. It's a really cute place!
* finally getting my taxes done. I don't know why I put them off because they are equally as painful whether you do them early or at the last minute.
* easy pizza dinner and Flyers game.

I have gratitude today for...
* Mom's waffle breakfast for the 4 of us.
* going to White House/Black Market to shop for bridal shower / rehearsal dinner dresses. It was fun to see Lisa and I felt good about how I looked in the dresses.
* Mannino's Tomato Pie!
* telling Mom & Dad about the Vita-Mix and watching the demos on-line with them.
* Mom giving me a PDF of Crazy, Sexy, Cancer on DVD.
* Produce Junction.
* a really yummy dinner; pasta with garlic, spinach, tomato and grilled chicken.
* watching Army Wives.

I have gratitude today for...
* doing the elliptical since I had to skip yoga because I thought I'd be too rushed this morning.
* giving Glee another shot- the music makes it great to watch while working out.
* being able to go to Lora's baby shower and seeing some friends I haven't seen in a while.
* arriving to Mom & Dad's safely; the rain was awful!
* girls' night with Mom, Kelly, Linda & Lisa.
* the beautiful engagement gifts from Linda.
* staying up with Mom, Dad & Kelly laughing, talking and watching SNL clips.
* the Flyers win over Buffalo.

I have gratitude today for...
* the tax extension! I HATE doing them and always put them off. Thankfully Andy will be taking over after we are married!
* finally getting paid from an overdue account.
* Yangming take-out.
* good laughs while talking with John today.
* finding huge bags of flash frozen fruit at Costco at a decent price for smoothies in the Vita-Mix!
* baking cookies for girls night and for Viki's dad.
* finding some great blogs about food today.

I have gratitude today for...
* having the courage to ask for compensation for all of the extra work I've been doing.
* our Vita-Mix arriving and making pizza sauce with it.
* Andy making homemade pizza.
* watching the Flyers kickoff their playoff run!

I have gratitude today for...
* my first Ignite associate completing their first 4 steps.
* talking with Mom about the wedding.
* coming home on time; having some time to myself to watch Brothers & Sisters and Oprah with no computer on my lap!
* Andy making chicken marsala for dinner.
* American Idol!
* the hockey playoffs starting!

I have gratitude today for...
* getting the contract from the florist for all of our flowers!
* going to yoga tonight.
* watching Community with Andy.
* finding some good free books for the Kindle from the blog I subscribed to.

Mom, are you crazy?

So this is the email I received from my mom early this morning...

Hi Chris,
I just heard about this 1/2 marathon in Philly this morning and it really caught my attention because I've always wanted to this race! It's really cool with bands playing at every mile marker! The only thing is, is that it's on the 18th of Sept. Would you mind if me and dad cut out early the day after the wedding? We can run the race and then meet up with you in the park afterward. We would miss the breakfast but we would see everyone later! There's plenty of time to train maybe you would want to do it too!!! Love you - Mom :)

My thoughts were the following in this order:
a) she is crazy to think I would even consider running a marathon the day after our wedding.
b) well, I know she's always wanted to do this marathon.
c) I've never been to a brunch the day after the wedding where the bride's parents weren't there. That would be kind of weird.
d) now they won't want to hang out that night after the reception when we get back to the hotel.
e) how are they going to get up at 6am?

By the time our Monday morning sales meeting ended and I had a chance to send a reply, Mom had sent me this as a follow-up...

OK you have probably read this by now and you're probably trying to figure out a nice way to say "what are you crazy"!!!  Well, you're right I was just kidding....gotcha!  I don't want you to fret over this for too long - I thought it was a fun joke but afterthoughts tell me to let you know that it was a joke sooner than later!  Love you - have a great day. mom

I have gratitude today for...
* lunch with Karin and Elijah at Panera. We talked about the Ignite opportunity and her amazing experience with Soles 4 Souls in Haiti. I would really love to do a trip next year!
* Andy making dinner tonight.
* taking a walk around the neighborhood after dinner.
* the funny email mom sent me about doing the Rock N Roll marathon the day after our wedding.

I have gratitude today for...
* Andy making a great breakfast.
* resting on the couch; I've been feeling run down lately.
* watching the Phillies game.
* going to the playground in Rosemont with Megan and James this afternoon.
* spending some time sorting through prospects and organizing Magazine Manager.

I have gratitude today for...
* Kelley picking me up to go to WCU.
* Paul asking me to speak about my experience as a marketing major at West Chester.
* the feeling I got being on campus. It brought back so many great memories.
* Paul treating us to lunch at Barnaby's.
* going to Bridaltown with Mom and Dad. I showed Mom the dress and met the seamstress Anna Marie. I have concerns it won't fit right if they can't alter the top but I trust they know what they're talking about.
* going to Men's Warehouse to look at tuxedos for the guys.
* finding I can wear Mom's necklace made from Mom-Mom's engagement ring with my wedding gown.
* bringing Mom & Dad to Totaro's for dinner with Andy.
* going to Stella Blu to see Popejoy play and Kelley meeting up with us there.

I have gratitude today for...

* being excited about our April issue, it really looks great!
* getting magazines delivered to all of my advertisers safely. It was no fun driving in the pouring rain for 6+ hours today.
* feeling good about myself this morning when I put on an old pair of jeans and discovering they are no longer tight!
* finally getting an email out to the family about Grandma's 80th Birthday scrapbook. Another project, gotta make room on my already full plate. The happiness it will bring her will make the time and effort worth it x1000.
* the nice emails I got from Aunt Kathy & Mom after I sent out the message.

I have gratitude today for...

* waking up to James standing in the doorway. Mom-Mom was watching the boys this morning and I was able to see them for a few minutes before work.
* the compliments John gave me in the sales meeting this morning.
* a fun lunch at The Great American Pub with John, Lorin & Sophia.
* talking to Megan this afternoon. She told me Jeffrey told her "Aunt Teen looked pretty this morning. She had to go to the work." God I love those kids. I feel so lucky to live close and be there while they are growing up.
* leftovers for dinner = quick & easy!
* coming home on time and watching American Idol from last night. It was one of the best, I love it when they're all good!
* watching the movie "Conviction" with Andy. It was a great movie; reminded me of John Grisham's book "An Innocent Man".
* talking with Missy and wishing her a happy birthday.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting through the day on no sleep, again.
* a great meeting with the office manager at a dentist's office I've been calling for months. I didn't give up and finally got the meeting. It was a great lesson; you don't give up until you know the answer is definitely "no" and why.
* going to Buca di Beppo for lunch by myself today. I needed some alone time to think some things through. I wrote out how I was feeling about some things and it made me feel a lot better.
* Trios hoagies for dinner before the Phillies game.
* going to our first Phillies game of the night. We met Lindsay's co-worker and wife (who bought the other pair), they were very nice. It was a great game and we are 1-0 for the 2011 season!

So...

I don't sleep normally anymore. What is going on? I go to bed at night and can't turn off my mind. I lay there thinking about how tired I will be in the morning but can't fall asleep. A million thoughts run through my mind each night. A couple nights a week I end up coming downstairs because it drives me crazy to watch the minutes go by, just lying there.

I'm thinking about...

• the wedding: The things we still need to do---find officiant, figure out what the guys are wearing, make final invite list, gifts for wedding party & parents, wedding bands, playlist for dj, figure out music for ceremony, order bridesmaid gowns, figure out what to do for guest book, arrange babysitters, wedding vows, find place for rehearsal dinner, pick out readings, figure out who to ask to do readings, "in memory of" table, find hair style I like, figure out a way to spend time with out-of-town friends/family during the wedding weekend, where do we want go for honeymoon that is hurricane proof, am I going to love my dress after it is altered, etc.
• my diet/health: I've kept the weight off that I lost in early 2010. I'm still eating too much meat and need to make more of an effort to eat less. I don't eat enough fruits or vegetables. I've been skipping breakfast again. I've really been enjoying yoga but haven't done the elliptical since I started going to classes at the end of January. I have weak arms and can't do a push-up properly; need to lift weights. I'm excited about the vita-mix that I bought and can't wait to start making smoothies and juices made straight from whole fruits and veggies. I am also excited to surprise Andy and show him all of the things we can make with our own whole foods instead of buying processes (fill in the blank.)
• my sleep patterns: I'm stuck in a bad sleep pattern cycle. When it's time to go to bed my mind starts racing, I'm up late, and then I can't get up in the morning. Ideally I'd be getting up early enough to exercise in the morning at home before work. My plan is to start getting up 15 minutes earlier every day. I guess I will start the morning after my next good night's sleep.
• work: Things are picking up. I am seeing results from the targeted prospecting I've been doing for the last six months. I truly believe our magazine can deliver what any advertiser needs if they are looking to reach our demographic, which makes it easy for me to talk to people about the magazine. I am excited about the progression of the intern program and marketing initiatives I am responsible for but sometimes find myself frustrated with all of the extra time I'm putting in for very little payoff.
• my relationships: I've been struggling with this a lot lately. I was spoiled last year and even when I was at Comcast because I had a lot more time for friends and my family. I talk on the phone all day at work and the last thing I want to do at night is talk on the phone. The only quality time I have with Andy during the week are the few hours from when he gets home from work and bedtime. We usually don't finish dinner until about 8:00. I've been trying to fit in yoga and ideally would be doing it 3-4 times a week (they don't offer any early morning classes). Ignite meetings are only in the evenings and I don't get home until at least 8:30 when I attend. I beat myself up because I feel bad about not calling, emailing, visiting enough. I often feel like no matter what I do it's not enough. I'm lucky to have so many people in my life that I care about, but I'm spread thin. Not sure how to fix this. I wish there was a way for certain people to know how often I think about them.

So, how do we add hours to the day? I guess I really do need to start getting up earlier. Which means I need to go to bed earlier than 12:40am. I'll get there. I know I'm not the only person that feels this way. And we don't even have kids yet.





I have gratitude today for...

* having some good interviews for our open internship positions for the summer.
* lunch at Plaza Azteca with John, Brian, Bill, Sophia & Beth.
* shopping for Beckman's baby shower gift.
* the Ignite meeting with Sophia tonight.

 I have gratitude today for...

* making plans with Kelley to drive to WCU together on Sat.
* making plans with Mom for her & I to "visit" my wedding gown and to do some other wedding stuff.
* Lindsay W. helping us sell one of Phillies pairs for Thursday night.
* going to Pilate's fusion class tonight. I really like that class. It's challenging and I'm pretty sure the instructor thinks I'm an idiot because I'm not really good at the Pilate's stuff but I get a lot out of it and hope to continually improve!

I have gratitude today for...
* sleeping in until 10am.
* Andy making a nice Sunday breakfast.
* getting a bunch of errands done at BJs, Kohl's, CVS, TJ Maxx & Marshall's.
* it being a nice day to drive around.
* Philly Soft Pretzel Factory.
* Phillies win 3-0!
* Jeff & Megan and the boys coming to visit.
* playing outside with Jeffrey & James. The Dollar Store balls were a hit!
* roasted chicken dinner.
* talking with Megan Regan for a while tonight.
* watching Army Wives and Secret Millionaire. What a great "feel good" show!

I have gratitude today for...
* going to a great 9am yoga class.
* spending the day with Andy looking at hotels and rehearsal dinner places.
* looking at new beds at Design Home Interiors.
* hot fudge sundaes for dessert.
* spending the evening watching the Flyers, NCAA tournament, Phillies and Community.

I have gratitude today for...
* having all of my ads in for this issue.
* lunch with John & Brian at UNO's.
* starting a new show on DVD (Community) that makes us laugh.