Where the joy at?

Today was a really hard day for me.

I'm perfectly healthy, have a loving and supportive husband, and a challenging, but reliable & rewarding job.

There is no reason why today should have been a hard day for me other than that my priorities in life need to be rearranged.

This is a fact that I need to face head on or I will continue to let myself have bad days for no reason.

I need to take time to rediscover the source of joy.

To appreciate this precious, short, life I have been given.

To find and embrace perfect peace.

It's possible. I know it is.

I guess it comes down to this:

What do I truly value above all else?

The importance of storytelling

Kevin and I have still been on west coast time this past week which has meant a couple hours of pillow talk through the night.

One of our conversations stood out to me and I thought I would share.

Sometimes we all get too busy to share our lives with one another. While we would like to think that we care about people and that people care about us, often we all only share the abridged version of our lives with one another for the sake of time or privacy or whatever else.

Storytelling is imperative to truly living in community with one another. 

We need to share more, ask more, and learn from each other's mistakes and joys. This is a special blessing that we have living in a global and increasingly connected world. Truly, loving one another and appreciating each other's stories. Affirming each other's stories despite any prejudices or judgments we might have.

When at home, work, or with friends... ask someone how they are doing and what they have been up to lately. Actively listen to the answer and affirm their story.

xoxo

<3

Penne alla Vodka with a twist!

Hello Friends,

Tonight Kevin made dinner and I thought I'd share it with you. Normally, I make dinner and Kevin makes breakfast, but tonight he decided to make a Penne alla Vodka with a twist!

Kevin cooked up some pasta and then tossed it with Penne alla Vodka sauce that we got from Costco. Then he added olives and mushrooms; I added Cayenne Pepper, Basil, and Oregano; and we put some Polly'O'String Cheese on top and baked it for 20 minutes on 350. It turned out yummy!

Let me know if you try it! :)

So ready for the Vegas show

Off to see the show LOVE

Asada!! :)

Masters Weekend

This past weekend has been a crazy one to say the least.

Kevin and I packed up on Friday morning to head to the airport and I ended up having a client meeting that morning. Then, I was ironically conferenced into a mandatory meeting on the importance of work/life balance for a couple hours. It was an important exercise for our company, but it made a once simple morning far more busy than I anticipated.

April drove us to the airport and we got into Seattle around 10pm. We went right to the hotel, ordered some quick dinner, and went to bed.

We were up bright and early the next day to catch the 6am light rail into downtown Seattle. We got some Starbucks and my friend from grad school, Emily and her husband picked us up and we road-tripped (5 hours) to Spokane for graduation.

We had a great time listening/ singing to mix cds Emily made, talking about life, and in complete awe of the scenery.

The trip started out looking like what one would think switzerland would look like. Tall mountains, covered in snow, even though it was 60 degrees outside. Gorgeous. During this phase of the trip we stopped to eat a proper breakfast at this hole-in-the-wall cafe. They offered items like a "spam omelet". Shockingly, this "classy" establishment had a fireplace that took 1100 hours to make. It was shaped like a big turtle. The stonework was impeccable.

Then we entered wine-territory. Grapes for miles.

From there, we entered a place that looked like the middle east. Barren mountains, cattle, very little civilization and then we got to Spokane.

Which we nicknamed spoghetto, spocan't, spokesganistan, spocompton.

It's a gorgeous lanscape filled with a dirty city and a sparkling Gonzaga campus.

We checked into the hotel and while the boys got ready, and ironed their clothes (and ours!) we picked up our caps and gowns.

Then we got ready and headed over to campus to line up. The line up was alphabetical and Emily and I ended up being next to each other (Wang, Vinton) which was fantastic! We were also in line with our two other grad school friends Katy and Jessica, which was also really great!

When we walked in, we had trouble finding the boys and when we finally spotted them, we gave them the biggest smiles.

The speakers spoke, "serve others" was the theme, and then they called out the names. Which took forever! But then they finally called mine. Walking across that stage, I felt such a sense of accomplishment and gratitude to my family, especially my husband.

I started this energy-sucking,  wonderful degree just after we got married. He has supported me through it all. Encouraging me when I got stressed out and showering me with kisses when I didn't think I could do it anymore.

He understood how important it was and stood by me. God truly blessed me with him.

After graduation, we took pictures with our friends and husbands and headed off to the COML banquet. We ran into one of my professors on the way and he not only remembered my name, but congratulated me on how well I did on my thesis. We also ran into my mentor and I was so glad, because she went to my oral presentation even though she didn't have to and I really wanted to thank her in person.

By this time, we were all exhausted, headed back to the hotel, and fell asleep. I'm still on east coast time, so I woke up early and wrote this post.

What a wonderful day. Now, onto vacation!

:)

Graduation

Today, I graduated with my Masters degree!

The cat posing in our living room

Shark Tank

Kevin and I love the show Shark Tank on ABC (and Hulu).

It's about entrepreneurs who go into a room of well-known  investors (or Sharks) and present their ideas.

They need to convince the sharks that their idea is worth investing in. They normally ask for a certain amount of money for a certain percentage of their company.

One of my favorite things about the show is that the sharks really do help the people they invest in and sometimes they have updates about some projects in the past that have taken off and made millions.

This show brings out my natural entrepreneurial spirit.

I love being a part of building something. I think that's why I love Public Relations so much.

It is great to promote a person, product, company and help change peoples' lives through increased awareness.

On that note... you should check out Shark Tank. I think you will like it.

<3

Weddings galore!

Next summer I am going to be in two weddings. One for my wonderful college friend, Amanda and one for my sister, Hope.

Both of these lovely ladies have top-knotch taste and I can't wait to see what their creative minds come up with.

It's wild to me that Kevin and I are nearly married for 2 years. We have been through so much together and have grown as individuals and as a couple.

I was working on our wedding scrapbook the other day and it's wild to re-live the day through the pictures. It was such a whirlwind of a day. Everything went so perfectly!

I'm so excited for Amanda and Hope and to celebrate their amazing relationships.

The men they found are amazing and are perfect for them. Both guys are southern gentlemen, strong Christians, and really smart. They are also respectful and positive, complimenting Hope and Amanda in the best way possible.

I love these ladies so much and I can't wait for their weddings!!

Soy creamsicle cooler

Best thing in Buffalo!

From "Rolling Joe Cafe" food truck!

Master's Oral Presentation

The other night I had my oral presentation for my masters.

I was skyped in to a room full of coms professors.

A couple students went before me.

The first student conducted an ethnography on the increased social media usage of a Native American tribe. She found that texting was only acceptable for certain occasions by leaders of the tribe.

The second student discussed social media's impact on nonprofit goving. She found that social media helped nonprofits fundraising efforts.

Then it was my turn. I talked about fashion as semiotic communication. Presented a Barthes theory called "the vestimentary code" and discussed a study I conducted and the results.

I answered all of their questions easily and actually enjoyed talking about the project I was working on for a year's time.

I'm happier that it's nearly over!!

T minus 1 week to graduation!

Dogs in the office

A study was recently done by Virginia Commonwealth University, that people are more productive if they can bring their dog to work.

When I worked at the publishing house, a couple of my co-workers would bring their old poodles to the office.

At first, I judged them hardcore. It seemed so unprofessional.

But I fell in love with these well-behaved dogs and on stressful days, a dog would distract me for a quick moment on the way to the bathroom and I would stop stressing and do work.

Dogs bring a unique sense of home into the workplace and they help develop unity among people in the office.

I love it... Now Kevin...

Will you have a puppy with me?

:)