at what point in time

at what point in time do you truly understand just how blessed you really are...

that life or god or karma or whatever you call it - has blessed you with good people, good family, good love and an all around good life...

i woke up this morning in a pretty good mood...yes its friday, yes there is pretty much no one at work today, yes i get to kick off my long weekend of laying by the pool, spending time with good people and my puppies in a few hours...but i think its more than that.

i wake up every morning next to an amazing man...one who loves me deeply, cherishes our relationship, is my best friend and proves to me every day that i am his missing piece...

but today it hit me that outside of him, and my family...i am pretty blessed to have a few beautiful and amazing women that i get to call my best friends...

it seems that every single day something changes, all around me - but the one thing i have been able to count on over the years is that no matter where life takes me or throws at me or puts in my path...i have love, support and inspiration from these women.

it saddens me that i live so far away from these amazing women...but i know that the distance has made us all stronger - and that in the end it is one of the things that has shaped our friendship. i find that i do not take their love and support for granted - and cherish the little amounts of time that i get to spend with them as some of the best times of my life.

i know the word love is often thrown around - which is sad...because that word should mean something more...i am guilty of this...

however - when i say "I love You" to each one of these amazing women...i mean it more than i ever thought possible...and i feel like i should tell each of them more!

as we all enter into new challenges, for some its motherhood, for others, its being a wife...and for others still it is finding a balance and learning that what is right is not always easy and what is easy is not always right...i know that we will remain friends - call me optimistic - but if we have made it through everything life has thrown at us so far...i believe we can do it again.

cheers to the last 1o years ladies...and may we drink to 100 more!

amazed and impressed

i have to share with you my complete amazement and just how impressed i am with the people i surround myself with - both near and far.

i have a friend - my former radio rep when i worked in iowa - who is going through a hard time right now. she found out this past weekend that her 2 year old mastiff has to have two knee surgeries to repair (in people terms) his ACL's. Without the surgeries - he will have to have his back legs amputated or even worse - be put to sleep!

i am not sure if you are aware - but there is sort of an unspoken bond between animal lovers...if you have a cat or a dog - you know what i mean...it is hard to explain...but you know it is there.

it is why mike and i always offer to watch our friends dogs, or a group of media/advertising dog lovers will send around emails to each other to help any dogs that need foster care find a home - if only for a short time...

when i read shannon's post on monday - i knew that i wanted to help - i put myself in her shoes and knew that if one of my furry babies needed it - my friends would step up and help in any way they could...

i sent out an email, posted several things on facebook and prayed that people would be willing to give - even a little to help King.

the response was amazing...people offered money and their time...people that had never even met this girl...or this dog...but that wanted to help...

it makes my heart smile...

there really is good in the world...there really are good people in the world and i am proud to call some of them my friends...

keep king in your thoughts and prayers...help if you can...

and know that the kindness and generosity you have shown has not gone unnoticed!

be a part of something real first

sorry it has been a while - but as of late i have really not had a lot to say...at least not a lot to say that i want to say in a (semi) public forum like my blog...

in various conversations that i have been involved in over the past few days - my co-workers and i have been discussing the use of social media, mostly facebook, by companies as a way to further their brand success -

the major we see with this current trend is that most companies simply know they need to adopt a social media structure or plan - but they could not tell you how any of these currently popular platforms will help their brand...they just know they have to do it...sort of a "we don't want to be left behind - even though we don't know where we are going" mentality.

in conversations with our always amazing and witty creative department - i believe that jeremy said it best...

i have not made any friends on facebook...everyone i am friends with i became friends with or at least met in the real world...

it should be the same with brands! there is no brand in the world that should expect to friend people on facebook if there has been no real life interaction. only after you interface a brand or company into your real life, would you even remotely consider being associated with them in the virtual one.

brands that understand this and implement a pro-active customer service approach, focus on their consumer experience, continue to provide quality products and in general expend their effort in being a brand that people use, believe in and even genuinely like in the real world, are then able to translate that into a facebook and social media strategy that allows them to continue to extend their brand in the virtual realm...that my friends should be the focus of a social media strategy!

don't stop

so my best friend, renee, not only started blogging but brought a totally awesome post to my attention and made my morning just a little bit brighter...

flash mob...a new and awesome idea in the world of experiential marketing (t-mobile did it at {i think} grand central station and then somewhere in london...

the basic idea is that in a crowded place, music suddenly comes on and one person starts dancing, to which, as the song progresses - more people join him or her in a completely choreographed dance routine that seemingly appears to be totally impromptu...

while i have never had the chance to actually witness one of these - it makes me totally want to organize one at say...my wedding...hahahah!

check out the flash mob students at OSU organized to promote the new (and beautiful) student union...

oh and...

GO BUCKEYES!

whatever...

so driving to work today, a large green ford explorer (or expedition) raced past me in the left lane...

the license plate on the car was "whatevr"

it made me think - how do you come to the decision that a phrase like "whatever" should be the lasting thought as you fly by people

whatever - not very encouraging...

"support this"

i was talking to a few of my friends the other day and all of them expressed the same thing...my morning drive observations make them laugh...they actually look forward to them in the morning. this is good news - because odds are they are not going to go away...happy tuesday!

now i am not sure if its because i spend a good 45-50 minutes in the car on my morning commute or if its because we live in new mexico, and people are just a little different out here - or maybe its because i am just now starting to pay attention and actually remember what it is that i see that often leaves me baffled...but either way - i am actually really enjoying my findings as i trek east from rio rancho into the (great) city of albuquerque.

today was particularly interesting...i was sitting at the light and realized that the car in front of me, a white ford focus (who had not only cut me off but was glaring at me in his rear view mirror - might be because i was starring with a look of disgust on my face) was proudly displaying a black and yellow magnetic ribbon on the trunk...the ribbon had the words "support this" on the curl of the ribbon with a balled up fist with the middle finger sticking out as if to flip off whatever unfortunate soul happens to be stopped behind him....or happens to disagree with this statement. As if this was not quite bad enough - hanging from his rear view mirror was the matching (fist flipping the bird) air freshener.

honestly - my first thought was...where does one get these items and do they come in a set or do you have to buy them separately...

by all means - it is your car, express your opinions - that is truly the beauty of the country we live in...

however...

my major distaste for the entire situation came when i realized that in his back seat was a car seat complete with his 2 year old (daughter or son - i couldn't tell) on board - daddy dropping jr. off at daycare - wonder how many times a day this precious little angel tells people to "support this"

stay classy albuquerque!

indie makes me happy

this morning was not such a great drive to work...every route was plagued by a major accident forcing me to take back roads which in reality took just as long if not longer but at least i was moving...sort of!

while i was in a really crappy mood when i pulled up to work...i saw my friend vicki walking with her granddaughter into the building. little indie is maybe a year old and is one of the most adorable little girls ever! she had on a little long sleeve polo dress, leggings and silver sparkly shoes that she proceeded to show to everyone. her dark brown hair was pulled into high pigtails and was a total mess...but in a way that an adorable little kid can totally pull off.

she had the biggest smile on her face...and the best part was that vicki had an even bigger smile on her face.

it made me realize that regardless of how i am feeling, or what i am going through, or where i stand today...there are things that can make you happy and leave you fulfilled...