Ok- sorry for the whiff on the first blog. I was just testing technical capabilities between Word and WordPress. My apologies loyal/disgruntled readers.
2010 marks my first full year as anything but an Ohioan. Instead of a New Year’s post where I make fun of my teenage resolutions (Kristin’s resolutions from age 15), I will just write a blurb on good findings in Florida/lessons learned/improvement over 2009, etc. Nothing overly insightful or worse, sentimental. Promise.
1. U turns. Now it really depends on how the city was engineered in the first place but for people like me, it does not really matter. I am not stellar with directions and I am sometimes impulsive. U-turns allow me the freedom to change routes very quickly. It seems almost contradictory to our laidback lifestyle to support such rash changes in direction- but do not let the Florida vibe fool you, Florida drivers are crazy.
2. Ohio is just TALKING about 70 mph. We have been at 70 mph since I remember coming here with my friend Cristina and her mom when Will Smith’s “Miami” was topping the charts. This year, I noticed “season” traffic but it didn’t bother me so much and neither have the crazy drivers. Granted, I have Jayce to kindly cart me around more of the time but I’m a lot more comfortable driving than I used to be.
3. Same goes with the heat. For someone who was ALWAYS cold in Ohio, you’d think I would have adjusted quickly to the tropical heat wave we get in the summer. False. It totally knocked me out my first summer. I would literally adjust my day’s activities around the peak temperatures of the day. This past summer, sure, it was hot, but not once did I stay inside in lieu of running to Target in the 95-degree heat. You get over it. I would also like to thank Mother Nature for two hurricane-free summers.
4. Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce© – I don’t know if grocery stores in Ohio sell this, but look for it. I don’t think I can ever go back to Heinz after this. I’m not saying it’s Florida specific, but the good people down here alerted to me to this wonderful addition to all things grilled. Please don’t start talking about the Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce either. This stuff is actually accessible and affordable. Say it out loud to yourself, it’s even fun to say! Do it.
5. Don’t worry- I won’t get sappy. I “found” Jayce in 2009, but we got engaged this September. It’s a big thing and I have Florida to thank (and Sarah).
6. I get to be an “aunt.” I have no brothers and sisters so I knew that my kids would never have aunts, uncles, cousins, etc on my side. Then I fell in love with another only child and boom- there went all chances of “kids table” at Thanksgiving and Christmas for the cousins. However, this week I made another realization; neither Jayce nor I will ever BE aunts or uncles to any little ones. I can’t say I’m not kind of bummed about this because aunts/uncles have the potential to be some of the coolest relatives. Thankfully, I have some pseudo nieces down here that I can spoil, babysit for, read books with, call on Christmas morning, handle watermelon incidents, you name it.
7. I had a chance to fundraise for the American Heart Association and I did it with the help of my amazingly motivated and generous coworkers. As of tonight (and I promise I haven’t checked in at least week), Chico’s FAS is only $125 short of being the top fundraiser in Lee County for this year’s Heart Walk. In 2009, Chico’s had about 25 walkers show up and generated $9,000 for the AHA. This year, we had 500 walkers show up and we have raised just over $55,000. It was an amazing experience but I also have learned my personal limits. I won’t be a company leader again next year with the demands of work and enjoying my time as a newlywed. Saying “no” is something I’m just learning how to do…
8. And another reason I won’t be as involved in the Heart Walk would be the side business I started in June. Unless we haven’t spoken in a long time, you know much of my energy and passion has been devoted to a little business called the lucky button (www.theluckybutton.com). It started out as an etsy site in June and by now, I’ve sold over 75 items and have shop space in a shop concept in downtown Fort Myers called the Franklin Shops. the lucky button has been a great creative outlet for me and somewhat therapeutic if I’m feeling lonely or bored. This year we will be launching a “real” website and should have at least 10 different graphics from which to choose. It’s small like our customers, but every single sale truly makes me feel excited and it’s a good feeling. After all, as adults how many things in life truly excite us?
10. I have a twitter account for the lucky button and barely use it. In fact, I feel too old to tweet.
FYI- The Flesch-Kincaid reading level of this post was a 7.9.
3% of the sentences were passively written. (Yes, I amuse myself.)
I love it! Happy New Year!!