Over the years I've worked very hard to earn the credentials behind my last name. Each one has meant something different to me. Earning the CMP, my first, is how I met my best friend Jaime. My life has never been the same and she is without a doubt a very rare friend. I consider myself to be very lucky for my best girl friends. They have always been there for me and though we may not live near one another, no matter what we make the commitment to our friendship. My CAE was the one I feared the most. I wasn't sure if I was ready for it, but knew that I could do it. After countless hours studying and the support of my then fiance and family opening that acceptance letter was a huge sign of relief that it was over and of course screams that I had passed. At the time I took my CAE and earned the credential I was in the <1% based on my age. Now, that's pretty cool.
My latest credential that I have earned is that of MOM. By far the longest prep and definitely scarier not knowing how it will all turn out, but in this past year I earned it! I had no idea what to expect becoming a new mom. I was very fortunate to have about 4 women friends have their children before me in the months leading up to Emma's arrival. We were a sort-of birthing club if you will. Without them, I think I would have gone insane. I worried about what I really needed to buy and what my schedule would be like. As a planner, I need to know how it's going to be! Boy, have I tried to let that one go these past several months. Meg: your visits on maternity leave kept me sane and helped bring back laughter. I had my bestie in TN, Coco who is the most amazing single mother I know and has done such an amazing job with her daughter. She was always there when I would start to worry or get freaked out. She seems to always know when I really need her. And again, I had Jaime. Interestingly enough, Jaime had her 2nd, my godson Will a month before Emma was born! So now, I've gone through 2 certifications with Jaime!
So, yesterday was my first Mothers Day. It was tough because I was on business travel (with the hubby and baby) but we were up very early to travel home. I was able to see my own mother, who is a constant source of strength and support and I wouldn't have wanted the day to go by without seeing her. Besides, 3 generations is pretty awesome. After lunch with Mom, we headed home and my hubby did a great job in helping me celebrate. I certainly would be remiss if I didn't thank him. Without him, I wouldn't have this amazing credential to be so proud about. I think single mothers should have many days to celebrate all they do, because it's a heck of a tough job and I couldn't do it without my amazing husband.
To all my mommy friends that have helped me on this journey, thank you all so much: JB, Coco, Meg, Jodie, Heather, Jules, Knight, Lesly, Mel, Cat, Allie, LQ, Shelly and Jen. I have loved our candid conversations and baby talks. Kudos to all of you for earning this amazing designation as well and cheers to you all for a wonderful mothers day and year ahead.
I started this blog right before my 30th birthday. I was so excited for my thirites, I AM excited about my thirties. So much has happened the past few years: moved in with my boyfriend at the time, boyfriend proposes, get married in 2010, pregnant in August of 2010, move into our new home later that fall and welcomed our gorgeous Emma Ryan in 2011. Next week we get ready to celebrate her 1st birthday and it made me realize that time flies and again nothing is constant but change. So, this post will be short and sweet, but I'm back and I'm hoping to do more with it as I have some great friends of mine that have their own blogs and I am in awe of them. They have inspired me to get going with my own. Writing has always been an outlet for me so I hope you'll enjoy and enjoy the ride.
This posting below was written by my amazing husband, Dan. He certainly has a way with words! Enjoy our story and we use this as a tribute to our friend Chris Mathieu!
As many of my friends and family know, I spent many, many years trying to find my true beloved. I tried it all . . . Match.com, Jdate.com, It's Just Lunch, speed dating, singles parties, and on and on and on. Now that Nicole and I celebrate almost five months of marriage, I thought today would be the perfect day to reveal a part of our story not many know, yet was a crucial factor in bringing our two lives together forever. The Mathieu Factor.
I met Chris Mathieu many years ago when he auditioned for Comedy Sportz -- the improv group in which I frequently performed in. He was/is hilarious and his presence on stage made me want to be in that scene or game with him with every show. We could always count on him showing up in his signature sweatpants and flip flops and at least one "raspberry"-tongue-spit-take in a show.
The years passed and Chris's calling brought him to his last Comedy Sportz show before he moved out to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. I remember it was a busy time of year for me and my dating life was going nowhere as usual. It was sad to think I may never play on stage again with Chris and when I heard it was his last performance, I made sure I was at least in the audience to see him on stage.
Flashback . . . I briefly met Nicole at one of my Too Many Daves and the Brass SOULution band gigs about six months earlier. Our mutual friend J'ana McCaleb decided to bring Nicole to the gig at Sweethearts in Fairfax that night as Nicole's first night out after major back surgery. I was dating someone else at that time and so there was only a chance to buy her and J’ana a quick Miller Lite and a bit of polite conversation with Nicole before having to pay attention to my “girlfriend”. It was shortly after that gig that I broke up with that girlfriend.
So I arrive to watch Chris’s last show that Friday night from a late day at the office and found a seat in the back. The place was packed. J’ana had sent me an e-mail earlier in the week to say she may be attending because her friend Nicole was a friend of Chris. Wow! What a small world, right? Now, I had known J’ana for many years and knew the odds of her showing up at an event are not always good. So I didn’t expect to see J’ana and Nicole that night. I was happily surprised to see them sitting up in the 2nd row, so I went up to the row behind them and said “hi”. The both greeted me, but Nicole hardly made eye contact. I spoke to J’ana a bit and found out they were attending both shows (early and late) so I suggested drinks at a bar downstairs between shows. I went back to my seat in the back of the room and enjoyed a hilarious and belly-laughing show that was all about making Chris work his ass off on stage.
We went to Chevy’s for a few drinks between shows and I was lamenting my recent dating mishaps as I usually did with J’ana. Nicole was happy to tell me what a fool I was being and how utterly clueless I was when it came to dating women. I did my best to finish my beer and save face in time for the next show. The 3 of us return to the theatre and sit in the back of the audience (again the place is packed). I sat between J’ana and Nicole. Nicole was busy talking to many of her old classmates from grade school and high school in the rows in front of us. Nicole knew Chris through Brian Cooke and had met Chris through that circle of friends. I ended up flirting with Nicole throughout the show and trying to get her to laugh even though it was impossible to compete with what was going on on-stage. We departed with a hand shake that night and went our separate ways, but somewhere I felt reassured we would meet again.
J’ana had planned a happy hour for our small circle of friends the next night at a bar called Lucky’s in Alexandria. It ended up only being J’ana, Jeff Rupp, and myself attending, but J’ana mentioned that Nicole may show up later. Nicole did arrive soon after that and the flirting continued from the night before. There were a few sparks throughout the night and when we left the bar to say our goodbyes I hugged Nicole. That hug was the moment we both look back on as the moment our relationship began.
This love story would not have come true if it weren’t for Chris Mathieu. We celebrate Chris Mathieu’s birthday today by sharing our story and the video Nicole asked Chris to make us for our wedding rehearsal dinner as a surprise for me. Unfortunately, the restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner was unable to accommodate our audio visual needs at the last minute so most of our family and friends have yet to view the video. Today we posted the video on YouTube for all to see. Enjoy. (If you are wondering about the groundhog thing, see my previous blog post here.)
As many of my friends and family know, I spent many, many years trying to find my true beloved. I tried it all . . . Match.com, Jdate.com, It's Just Lunch, speed dating, singles parties, and on and on and on. Now that Nicole and I celebrate almost five months of marriage, I thought today would be the perfect day to reveal a part of our story not many know, yet was a crucial factor in bringing our two lives together forever. The Mathieu Factor.
I met Chris Mathieu many years ago when he auditioned for Comedy Sportz -- the improv group in which I frequently performed in. He was/is hilarious and his presence on stage made me want to be in that scene or game with him with every show. We could always count on him showing up in his signature sweatpants and flip flops and at least one "raspberry"-tongue-spit-take in a show.
The years passed and Chris's calling brought him to his last Comedy Sportz show before he moved out to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. I remember it was a busy time of year for me and my dating life was going nowhere as usual. It was sad to think I may never play on stage again with Chris and when I heard it was his last performance, I made sure I was at least in the audience to see him on stage.
Flashback . . . I briefly met Nicole at one of my Too Many Daves and the Brass SOULution band gigs about six months earlier. Our mutual friend J'ana McCaleb decided to bring Nicole to the gig at Sweethearts in Fairfax that night as Nicole's first night out after major back surgery. I was dating someone else at that time and so there was only a chance to buy her and J’ana a quick Miller Lite and a bit of polite conversation with Nicole before having to pay attention to my “girlfriend”. It was shortly after that gig that I broke up with that girlfriend.
So I arrive to watch Chris’s last show that Friday night from a late day at the office and found a seat in the back. The place was packed. J’ana had sent me an e-mail earlier in the week to say she may be attending because her friend Nicole was a friend of Chris. Wow! What a small world, right? Now, I had known J’ana for many years and knew the odds of her showing up at an event are not always good. So I didn’t expect to see J’ana and Nicole that night. I was happily surprised to see them sitting up in the 2nd row, so I went up to the row behind them and said “hi”. The both greeted me, but Nicole hardly made eye contact. I spoke to J’ana a bit and found out they were attending both shows (early and late) so I suggested drinks at a bar downstairs between shows. I went back to my seat in the back of the room and enjoyed a hilarious and belly-laughing show that was all about making Chris work his ass off on stage.
We went to Chevy’s for a few drinks between shows and I was lamenting my recent dating mishaps as I usually did with J’ana. Nicole was happy to tell me what a fool I was being and how utterly clueless I was when it came to dating women. I did my best to finish my beer and save face in time for the next show. The 3 of us return to the theatre and sit in the back of the audience (again the place is packed). I sat between J’ana and Nicole. Nicole was busy talking to many of her old classmates from grade school and high school in the rows in front of us. Nicole knew Chris through Brian Cooke and had met Chris through that circle of friends. I ended up flirting with Nicole throughout the show and trying to get her to laugh even though it was impossible to compete with what was going on on-stage. We departed with a hand shake that night and went our separate ways, but somewhere I felt reassured we would meet again.
J’ana had planned a happy hour for our small circle of friends the next night at a bar called Lucky’s in Alexandria. It ended up only being J’ana, Jeff Rupp, and myself attending, but J’ana mentioned that Nicole may show up later. Nicole did arrive soon after that and the flirting continued from the night before. There were a few sparks throughout the night and when we left the bar to say our goodbyes I hugged Nicole. That hug was the moment we both look back on as the moment our relationship began.
This love story would not have come true if it weren’t for Chris Mathieu. We celebrate Chris Mathieu’s birthday today by sharing our story and the video Nicole asked Chris to make us for our wedding rehearsal dinner as a surprise for me. Unfortunately, the restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner was unable to accommodate our audio visual needs at the last minute so most of our family and friends have yet to view the video. Today we posted the video on YouTube for all to see. Enjoy. (If you are wondering about the groundhog thing, see my previous blog post here.)
I have to give a huge shout out to Virgin America. I am writing this blog while in the air on my way to my Annual Conference in San Francisco. I was bummed to miss Monday night at home with Dan as that is our "date" night when we watch The Bachelorette and make fun of the guys and what's going on. I didn't want to miss it and due to wifi on Virgin.America Dan and I have been able to chat via messenger the entire way!
Jaime and I flew this airline last summer out to Seattle for the CMP Conclave and loved it. There are outlets at the seats, awesome music to choose from that you don't need your own iPod and satellite TV.
So, if you need to travel, I highly recommend Virgin America! Thanks to them I was able to keep my long standing date night with Dan.
This past week was a really tough one with preparing for my Annual Conference and many social functions that were on the calendar. By Friday I was exhausted. I was on lunch and checked my email and there was a message about SoKoBe Contests. I thought, that sounds familiar, well I opened the email and it reminded me that I had entered a contest to win a diamond ring through SoKoBe.com. Turns out that our story came in 3rd place and I won a pair of Diamond Earrings!
I was shocked. Everyone tells me I win everything, but this was out of no where. Out of hundreds of entries mine had come in the top three. I am just thrilled beyond words. Check out the link below to see the official news and thank you again to the lady that sent Dan the twitter message about the contest. Mostly, thanks to my love for passing it along!
I was on vacation with my mom this weekend when a message came in from my boyfriend that said: "This was mentioned in a tweet I got...2nd and 3rd prize might be nice too, you are the lucky one". So I clicked to the link that sent me to http://www.sokobe.com/. What might these prizes be you ask....well 1st prize is a diamond ring and 2nd and 3rd are diamond earrings. In talking to Dan about this he said I am such a lucky person that I should go for it and tell our story.
Dan and I met two years ago in the spring when a mutual friend of ours invited me to hear his band play. I hear had all about dan over the past several months so I was excited to put a face with the name. When we walked into the bar and she pointed him out to me, my heart skipped a beat. He was adorable and I couldn't wait to meet him. That night he came over to us and brough us beers and we spoke for a few moments, but his girlfriend at the time was also there. Soon after meeting him, I left for the evening. Forward a few months when I invited this mutual friend with me to an improv show. She said to me " this is great, I bet Dan will be there, he does improv with this group also." I had no idea and I was so nervous that night. We ended up grabbing drinks between shows and he was asking us advice about dating! The next night our friend invited me to join them for happy hour and it was that night that I knew my life would never be the same. We spent the whole night talking and laughing and we had so much in common. The end of the evening came too quickly and he hugged me goodbye and it was the most sensual, electric hug I have ever had. The thought still gives me chills. Not 20 minutes later I got a text from him that said "thinking of you....is that ok". I wrote back "absolutely" and the rest as they say is history. We have been together for almost 1 year and 8 months and it's been a whirlwind.
The contest has asked us: Why do we deserve to win a diamond ring? Well, we forgot to get one while we were in South Africa last fall! Technically, yes we were in South Africa, but no we didn't look at diamonds while we were there. I did mention to him while we were there that I wanted to price the diamonds, but I don't think he understood why until we got home and heard a story on the news about the worlds largest diamond being mined from South Africa.
It would be great for us to win this diamond ring. For me personally, it would be a huge burden on finances for Dan. He has recently started his own business and in doing so is using up his own personal savings to get it started. We are also carrying two mortgages while living together so that we can be together. Our goal is to try to save so that we can buy a new house together. Wining this diamond ring would be a huge help (for everyone I'm sure that enters) in the savings department. Dan and I have also led a very comical life with our relationship and this would be another great story to add to the collection. The first time I told Dan I loved him was after I blew up his washing machine in his house and the fire department had to come out. It was my FIRST day staying there with him, he was at work and I was trying to be helpful and get some laundry done from one of our recent trips! SoKoBe has a quote on their website that says: "What you see is what you get. No gimmicks." They say this about their site and their quality of items. Well, I can say the same is true for Dan and I: "What you see is what you get. No gimmicks" and this is why we would deserve to win the diamond ring contest that is being held at Sokobe.com.
