Today’s letter is in celebration of my cousin Kristen’s birthday! I feel pretty fortunate to be so close to both my cousins (Kristen and her older sister, Kelli). And they’ve both been taking the world by storm as of late – Kelli is off in China teaching English, and recently Kristen moved to Tennessee to work as a nurse. My cousin’s one groovy chica, and she’s definitely been missed since her move to the mountains. Thankfully, we do manage to…
Recently, I had the pleasure of being part of the interview committee for our latest hire for the strategic communications team (specifically for PR). We met Gabe late one Saturday morning at Starbucks, and I remember leaving the meeting feeling impressed and refreshed by his energy, experience and openness. When he followed up that next week with a creative letter of thanks, he’d all but sealed the deal in my mind. (Note: Thank you cards/letters post-interview are not an archaic…
One of things that I’m already loving about the 31 Letters in 31 Days project is the fact that it’s motivated me to reach out to people I’ve truly been missing in my life. It’s so easy to get caught up in the hecticness of our day-to-day challenges and lose sight of the things that are really important, like cultivating and maintaining our relationships with family members and friends alike. Today’s letter is for my Uncle David, Aunt Linda and…
Every Fourth of July, Chris and I join his family at their lake house on Kingsley Lake, a tradition that I look forward to every year. It’s a chance to disconnect (mostly) and enjoy the beauty of the lake – the sound of the water against the house (situated literally on the lake), the feel of the sun on the dock, and the cool, calm water after the heat has driven us from sunning on the dock. It’s also a…
I recently found out that Kat, a friend who also happens to be my first college roommate, and her husband Tom are expecting, so today’s mail is a congratulations to them both as they start preparing for parenthood. Kat and I actually met through my cousin Kelli right before I moved to Tallahassee for my junior year. She and I got along great from the start, probably in part to the fact that we’re both avid lovers (and rescuers) of…
Day 3 is honor of one of my besties, Paige, who I’ve known since my senior year at Florida State University. She and I worked together at the Office of Undergraduate Studies at FSU, and have been through a lot together since our first chance encounter as student workers. Despite incidents like the theft of her pants (at the office, no less), social experiments at Olive Garden, my pups tendency to tackle her upon entry, the introduction of bondage pants…
Liz, a coworker and friend, just completed a month-long challenge of her own, and one that I’m not sure I could ever manage. She took the Whole 30 challenge, which means in a nutshell, she endured the following: Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. (That means no syrup, Splenda, Stevia, etc.) Do not eat grains. Do not eat legumes (including soy-based products, peanut butter and hummus). Do not eat dairy. Do not consume carrageenan, MSG…
Today kicks off the first day of my 31 Letters in 31 Days challenge, and what better way to get started than with a “Thank You” for someone who’s been an amazing addition to my life over the past year and a half, my friend Tyler. Tyler and I met through the AAF Jacksonville Board (he serving as president and I as social media chair) and during that time we’ve had some pretty incredible adventures – District Conference in Orlando…
During the summer, my job does this wonderful thing called Summer Half Days. Every other Friday for eight weeks, we get to take a half day (as long as our projects are completed, of course.) This past Friday, I took one of my half days and headed down to St. Augustine to enjoy a girls’ afternoon/evening out with my mother-in-law (specifically to see Earth, Wind & Fire at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre). Prior to the concert, I brushed up on my…
It’s official! In 100 Days, Chris and I will be hopping on a plane and heading to Hawaii! It’s a trip that we’ve been trying to plan for quite some time – since one of my besties, Emily, moved there with her husband (he’s a captain in the Marine Corps). Now that we’ve secured our plane tickets, our next steps are to spend some time ironing out the details of all the things we want to do while we’re there.…