Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
This makes me smile.
If you know me at all, then you should know that Disney World is one of my favorite places. Therefore, I love Disney's new ad campaign for 2011. Maybe you have seen these or maybe you've fast forwarded through commercials. Either way you should check out Disney's new commercials below, especially if you want to smile.
Instead of using their own footage, they are taking videos and pictures of real people and putting them together into a commercial. By showing potential customers the memories other people have made at Disney, they are hoping other will "Let the Memories Begin" by booking a Disney vacation. These commercials make me so happy! I especially love the fact that it is obvious that some of the photos and videos are old. One day I want to surprise my children with a trip to Disney!
Instead of using their own footage, they are taking videos and pictures of real people and putting them together into a commercial. By showing potential customers the memories other people have made at Disney, they are hoping other will "Let the Memories Begin" by booking a Disney vacation. These commercials make me so happy! I especially love the fact that it is obvious that some of the photos and videos are old. One day I want to surprise my children with a trip to Disney!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Social Media
Life has been busy since the start of "real life" aka life after the holidays. Although my Monday night class has yet to start due to snow and MLK day, I can already tell that taking 4 classes will be quite time consuming but doable.
One of the classes I am taking is a social media class. On our first day of class, we watched the below youtube video which I thought was really interesting. A lot of people I have told I am taking a social media class have somewhat laughed and thought it was a joke of a class that really wouldn't be relevant to business. After just three classes, I have already seen that those are false beliefs. It will be incredibly interesting to see even 5 years from now what businesses are doing with social media.
If you think about it, 5 years is a long time when it comes to technology. 5 years ago I was a 20 year old sophomore in college who didn't have wireless internet, didn't know what facebook was (I think it came to Samord my junior year), and would not have known what the phrase "there's an app for that" even meant because well apps didn't exist.
5 years from now will we be driving flying cars? Likely not, but there will definitely be things that are completely normal then that are not now!
So with that, remember when this was high tech?
Monday, January 17, 2011
The weather outside is frightful!
Two Sunday's ago, the state of Alabama experienced a winter storm. The Birmingham area got some snow but mainly ice. North Alabama, however, got tons of snow! Unfortunately I was unable to enjoy a "snow day" because I was required to be at work to help with the hospital food service. However, as I tell my story, I will entertain you with pictures my Dad sent me of the snow he and my Mom got to experience.
It's common knowledge in my department that if it snows, you are expected to be at work at 6:30am no matter what. Even though on a normal day it is not a dietitians job to work in the kitchen, when there is snow or other extreme weather, we help in the kitchen because the snow normally results in understaffing. The snow doesn't stop the patients from needing food!
I spent all of Friday and Saturday hoping that the weather forecasts I had been hearing all week would suddenly change. On Sunday morning, however, the prediction remained for snow and ice to start moving in that afternoon/evening. I still spent most of Sunday in denial that I would likely have to go in that night. It was around 5pm when JP and I went on a walk and that the storm started moving in. As we were walking, the ice rain started to fall.
After a few hours of debating whether or not I should go in or not, I finally decided that in order for me to arrive safely at work the next morning it was probably a good idea for me to go ahead and go in. JP and I walked up to a gas station near our apartment to see how the roads were. We talked to a few people who had just been on the road, and they said there were all kinds of accidents. It was about 8pm when I was ready to go and the roads were snowy and icy but I figured it would be worse in the morning. There was hardly anyone else on the road, and it was snowing/raining ice the entire time.
JP drove me to the hospital and insisted that we stopped at Waffle House on the way. Surprisingly (or maybe not) Waffle House had a lot of customers. After eating our waffles, JP dropped me off and headed home. I was so nervous until I heard from him that he had gotten home safely. Ask him what he thought about driving in that weather, and he says that it was exciting and that he loved it.
So there I was Sunday night ready to be at work the next day at 6:30am, although technically I was already AT work just not working. I had brought my sleeping bag but thankfully one of my co-workers had an extra air mattress. We all slept in a big room in our new office suite. It wasn't so bad, but of course I would have preferred to be at home waking up to a snow day.
After a busy work day on Monday, we were again told that we would have to be at work on Tuesday at 6:30am, and that we would need to spend the night again because the roads would likely refreeze. The hospital was able to book us some hotel rooms so we would be able to have a real bed and a shower. All of the hotels downtown were already booked, so they booked a hotel two exits south of the hospital... which is where my apartment is. Because my apartment was within walking distance, I was able to sleep there.
Most importantly, I was able to watch the BCS National Championship game. At some points that day I thought I might not be able to watch the game, but it worked out that we all were able to watch. War Eagle!
Tuesday morning, a police officer driving a 12 passenger van picked us all up at the hotel and drove us in to work. After working just 6 hours we were allowed to leave. We were all exhausted and were so glad we were relieved of our duties a little early!
One thing I learned from this is, I must say I have a new respect for the people that deliver patient trays all day. Pushing those carts all over the hospital can be tiring!
Looking back, it all wasn't so bad at all. However, I'm glad Alabama does not have these winter storms frequently!
It's common knowledge in my department that if it snows, you are expected to be at work at 6:30am no matter what. Even though on a normal day it is not a dietitians job to work in the kitchen, when there is snow or other extreme weather, we help in the kitchen because the snow normally results in understaffing. The snow doesn't stop the patients from needing food!
I spent all of Friday and Saturday hoping that the weather forecasts I had been hearing all week would suddenly change. On Sunday morning, however, the prediction remained for snow and ice to start moving in that afternoon/evening. I still spent most of Sunday in denial that I would likely have to go in that night. It was around 5pm when JP and I went on a walk and that the storm started moving in. As we were walking, the ice rain started to fall.
After a few hours of debating whether or not I should go in or not, I finally decided that in order for me to arrive safely at work the next morning it was probably a good idea for me to go ahead and go in. JP and I walked up to a gas station near our apartment to see how the roads were. We talked to a few people who had just been on the road, and they said there were all kinds of accidents. It was about 8pm when I was ready to go and the roads were snowy and icy but I figured it would be worse in the morning. There was hardly anyone else on the road, and it was snowing/raining ice the entire time.
JP drove me to the hospital and insisted that we stopped at Waffle House on the way. Surprisingly (or maybe not) Waffle House had a lot of customers. After eating our waffles, JP dropped me off and headed home. I was so nervous until I heard from him that he had gotten home safely. Ask him what he thought about driving in that weather, and he says that it was exciting and that he loved it.
So there I was Sunday night ready to be at work the next day at 6:30am, although technically I was already AT work just not working. I had brought my sleeping bag but thankfully one of my co-workers had an extra air mattress. We all slept in a big room in our new office suite. It wasn't so bad, but of course I would have preferred to be at home waking up to a snow day.
After a busy work day on Monday, we were again told that we would have to be at work on Tuesday at 6:30am, and that we would need to spend the night again because the roads would likely refreeze. The hospital was able to book us some hotel rooms so we would be able to have a real bed and a shower. All of the hotels downtown were already booked, so they booked a hotel two exits south of the hospital... which is where my apartment is. Because my apartment was within walking distance, I was able to sleep there.
Most importantly, I was able to watch the BCS National Championship game. At some points that day I thought I might not be able to watch the game, but it worked out that we all were able to watch. War Eagle!
Tuesday morning, a police officer driving a 12 passenger van picked us all up at the hotel and drove us in to work. After working just 6 hours we were allowed to leave. We were all exhausted and were so glad we were relieved of our duties a little early!
One thing I learned from this is, I must say I have a new respect for the people that deliver patient trays all day. Pushing those carts all over the hospital can be tiring!
Looking back, it all wasn't so bad at all. However, I'm glad Alabama does not have these winter storms frequently!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
You are my fire...
This past weekend consisted of what will be one of my favorite days of the year and one that will be one of my least favorite days. Let's start with my favorite.
Last year JP and I went to our first Twelve Night celebration. I loved it and was so excited for it to come around again this year. Thankfully, this year I remembered to bring my camera so I could show you what we were up to.
Yep, we were burning Christmas trees. It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I mean I'd always heard how terrible a Christmas tree fire can be in a house, but I never imagined how quickly the catch on fire and how incredible large the flames are! It was so cool that I got my sister to come with us this year.
There were probably about 30 people there, and we ended up with at least 20 trees if not more. JP definitely got involved in putting the trees on the fire and really took charge.
Yes it was cold outside but as soon as the tree caught flame you could really feel the heat. Last year I wore tennis shoes and my feet froze. But this year, I wore Uggs (ok fake ones) and they were completely fine.
So far, these pictures make it look like a normal ol' bonfire. But no, these flames get SO high. please notice the height of the people in relation to the height of the flame.
And some more pictures just in case you don't believe me about the magnitude of these flames...
The epic finale involved tying three trees together and putting them in the fire at the same time. Here are JP, Ben, and Corey (who can't be seen) placing the trees on the fire.
I did not get any good pictures of this epic flame though because I was very concerned about my husband who was preventing the trees from rolling off the fire onto the grass and down the hill.
That leads me to a common question. Is this safe? Now I'm sure it wouldn't win any safety awards but really the fire was very under control. Trust me, if I didn't feel safe I would not have stayed. We did have a "fireman" aka a guy with a water hose that would spray any bits of flame that happened to get on the grass but even when that happened it didn't appear to cause any safety concerns.
The only times I ever felt like we were potential visitors to the Burn unit at UAB was when 1) someone decided to jump over the fire, not when it was super high but when it was just getting started. Yes that someone was JP and yes I freaked out, and yes a few others followed his lead. and 2) when JP was so close to the fire when there were three trees on it.
So the simple act of burning the trees seemed very under control and safe to me. Adding boys to the mix of course made it a little more risky but they did not get too crazy.
Looking forward to next year already!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
2011
It is eleven days into 2011. So what do I think about this new year, this new decade?
First, lets look back at 2010. Although I did pretty much nothing on my 2010 Things to Do List, it was a very memorable year. Four events that happened in 2010 will never be forgotten.
These two events at some points in time seemed impossible, but they happened and resulted in much excitement.
JP passed the CPA exam
JP got a job
These two events were dreams come true for me!
We went to Disney World
We went to a Braves playoff game
Since I did such a bad job at completing my Things to Do List for 2010, I really wanted to think about what I wanted to do in 2011 and be realistic. So far I've done pretty good.
Get my email under control- at the beginning of 2011 my Gmail account had over 6000 messages in the inbox. I KNOW, I have a problem! So far in 2011 I've unsubscribed to tons of emails and my email is down to 2000 messages. My goal is to get it to be like a normal account.
Be more organized- I think doing this will help my life overall. Especially while I'm in school, I tend to get focused on that and forget about other things. I do so much better when I write things down but did not do a good job of that last year. I really want one of these but I'm too cheap to fork out $50 for a planner. So, I got another notebook that I think will work. I have a lot of small things I want to do in 2011 that I won't mention here, and I think writing these down will get them down faster.
More recipes!- I want to add recipes to my list because I'm getting bored with what we have. I read tons of blogs that have good recipes but I never seem to look at them. Part of my be more organized is writing down these recipes in my notebook when I originally read them.
Get money consolidated- JP and I are pretty pleased with the way we spend our money right now. However, we have several different checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit cards. I want to consolidate these!
So these are what I want to do for now. Once I finish this semester there are several things I want to do but I'm going to be realistic and know that they won't get done while I'm taking 4 classes. One of these is starting a food related blog, and I also want to get more involved in our church. Additionally, I also want to get in shape, and I'm going to do what I can this spring but want to get for real about it after I graduate.
So here are some things I really want to happen this year:
Buy a house- I'm so ready to be out of apartment! I will continue to be patient but I hope it is this year.
Go on a trip- JP and I probably won't take a big trip this year since we went to Disney last year but Sister and I want to go on a camping trip out West with JP's brother Michael.
I guess a year from now we will look back and see how all of this goes!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Christmas Day 2010
The days before Christmas the weather men kept saying we might could expect a white Christmas. We didn't really take them seriously, especially my sister. On Christmas morning, JP went downstairs before I did, and I heard him say something to my Dad about snow. In my mind I pictured a slight dusting, but when I went downstairs I was quite shocked! I ran upstairs to my Sister's room since she was still asleep and said, "There is a ton of snow outside!" Her response, "No there's not." She got out of bed and peeked out her window and was proven wrong.
We truly had a white Christmas! My parent's house looked like a Christmas card or a movie.
Time in the snow would come later. First, we ate our traditional Christmas breakfast and then moved to the living room to open gifts.
Once we were older we found Christmas was more fun when we went slow and watched everyone open their gifts instead of quickly opening our gifts at one time like when we were kids. This led to our new Christmas gift opening tradition that we started a few years ago. On Christmas Eve, I go through the gifts under the tree and place a number on each gift. I put a corresponding number in a mug. On Christmas morning everyone gathers their gifts and looks at the numbers they have. Someone draws a number out of the mug, and if you have the gift what the number, you get to open it.
Once you open the gift, you then draw the next number. We all really enjoy this tradition and feel like it makes opening gifts more meaningful.
This year my big gift was an iron. I was very excited because I didn't think I would be getting an iron, and I really wanted a new one because the one we have is really old. I've been ironing a lot more now that JP is wearing dress shirts to work every day. Now I'll be ironing with a top of the line, highly rated iron!
My Mom's big gift was a new sewing machine!
JP and I gave her this eternity scarf. She liked it, and so do I. I want one of my own!
It is always so exciting to see everyone open their gifts, especially the ones I picked out for them!
After the presents were opened it was time to check out the snow. My Sister went straight out the door without putting on snow appropriate clothes. Honestly, it didn't feel too cold at first.
After we all went inside and put on snow appropriate clothes we all enjoyed the snow.
The best part though was the dog that came to visit us. My Sister REALLY wants a dog and would have loved to have gotten a dog for Christmas. Well she didn't, but she did get to play with a dog in the snow. This random dog came and played with us for about an hour. We decided my mom rented him from here, a place my cousin uses to get her boss animals for his photo shoots.
He wasn't the only dog around. Our neighbors, who we are close with, were out playing with us. Their bulldog joined us as well. We saw this dog being active for longer than I think we ever have before.
Other highlights of the day included Granny trying on all of her clothes we gave her the night before and this Feta Dip. It was so good and so easy to make!
Overall it was such a great Christmas!
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