Top Ten List - My Year-in-Review

I got an email from my sister-in-law Laura that got me to thinking about what an interesting year this last one has been in my life, so on that note, I decided to post my list of the top ten things that happened in my life this year...or at least the ten I could think of today.

10) On what turned out to be my last business trip for Audatex, the TV in my hotel room burst into flames. Could have been foreshadowing for my career at Audatex. Glad I had this last hurrah with my old team.

9) Innocent trip to the dentist ends with me suffering from TMJ, locking my jaw at a 15 and preventing eating and talking for over a month. 97 xrays, too many sugar shots to count, and three orthodics later and I rejoined the world of the speaking and eating.

8) Went to work one day to find out that I no longer worked there. Great severance package though. Once the shock wore off, best thing that could have happened. Thanks to my great support system out there - you are the best!

7) Went to work for GMAP. Learned more about college football than a person should ever know. Also ended up working the garage sale every Saturday trying to figure out how my life had brought me to this point. At least it gave me a reason to leave my house on a regular basis!

6) Found job hunting had it's perks including taking three trips to Boston to interview for jobs and being able to tack on three trips to New Hampshire to hang with the family there. Perfect.

5) Friend Julie passed away in August. Reality check on what really matters. Think this might have been the point I subconsciously made the decision not to relocate away from family and friends. Rest in peace Julie.

4) Got two great job offers within 24 hours of each other. Chose Lawson. Great job, great salary, great location (aka home). Hurrah’s all around.

3) Week four of new job, traveled to Sweden on business. Best business travel location I’ve been sent to. Went to a Christmas market, toured the Vasa Museum, and met my fantastic team there. Certainly beats the December I went to Fargo.

2) Discovered the beauty of blogging and reuniting with old friends on Facebook. For someone who is terrible at calling people, this is the perfect way to stay in touch!

1) Spent three fun-filled and relaxing weeks in Sydney, Australia. Sat at the beach, ate guava ice cream, did what I wanted when I wanted. Priceless.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Snow Day...

I was tagged today to share a "Snow Day" story from childhood. Luckily, I grew up in a snowy environment so I actually have a story. I remember once when school was closed early due to the snow, it was in Uintah so I would have been about 10. We were all very excited about the extra hours of freedom and piled into someones car, a station wagon as I recall, for what should have been the short journey home. We were living on Woodland Drive in Ogden at the time and in order to get home, we had to get up a hill which seemed much steeper that it actually was when covered with ice and snow. The car just couldn't make it up the hill; we would go a few feet and then slide back down the hill. We did this a few times and then the mother driving declared defeat (as had the mother of the other cars parked haphazardly along the side of the road). We all got out and started the trek up the hill only to discover that we couldn't make it up the hill any better than the cars could. We were slip sliding all over the place and laughing at the craziness of it all. Being the ingenious children that we were, however, we eventually figured out that if we took our shoes off, our socks would stick to the ice and we could actually get enough traction to get up the hill. It was great, especially as we played "dodge the car" as the cars silly enough to still be attempting the climb up the hill slid back down the hill towards us. Were we worried about frostbite on our feet or getting run over by an out of control car? No way, not on a Snow Day!

A Dorm Room By Any Other Name...

...Is Still A Dorm Room.

I am on my first business trip to Sweden. It has been a great trip and I am really enjoying my job this week. That having been said, when staying in Sweden, we stay at the Campus Inn, which is literally in the office. The dorm room looks like a little IKEA show room (or like IKEA spit up and this is what it left behind). At least it had it's own bathroom! Only employees are allowed to stay there and it is a little disconcerting to know that everyone you see in the halls is a coworker. After the first few days, there were only three of us that seemed to be staying there so I felt like a college student who stayed at school over a holiday break alone in the empty dorm. It was an odd experience but I couldn't have asked for an easier commute to the office! The pictures really don't do it justice. I spent a week here and then switched to the Radisson Strand where my room is half the size. Yes, that's correct, it is possible to have a smaller room than the dorm room. More from Sweden later!