When one door closes, another one opens...

My office...before I started packing up

My final days at the CCC were much harder than I originally anticipated. While there was little sadness regarding leaving the actual work, leaving the people I've spent so much time with over the last year and a half was tougher than I ever dreamed.

Josh, Rachel and me at Gala '08

My final week was filled with thoughtful celebrations. Tuesday the "old CCC gang" ate lunch together (not because I was leaving, but for old time's sake) and it was really nice to catch up. They were the original team, the reason I ever came back to the CCC to begin with. Thursday Rachel and Josh took me to a fun lunch at Taziki's where they gave me this awesome print-out of all of my "favorite things" (Obama and the color purple being the most obvious) and very sweet cards (insert tears here). It was after that lunch that I realized I wasn't dealing with the transition as well as I'd hoped. How was I going to make it without these people that I'd come to rely so heavily upon? Friday was much of the same--discussions about fun memories and thoughts of what the days ahead would hold. The whole office took me to lunch at John's and it was nice to have everybody together again, one last time. I managed okay until it was time to leave. Rachel, Josh and I walked out just as normal and everything was fine until that moment. The one where I realized this entire chapter in my life was coming to a close and I would no longer have this familiarity and comfort. Rachel and I cried (I cried the whole way home), but I'm reassured that although we won't work together anymore, we'll always be friends. You don't meet people like her very often, and I' so grateful for the friendship we've built.

Now it's time for another chapter to begin--one with much less certainty and a whole new list of characters. Tomorrow should be a fun day--or at least an educational one. I can't wait to see what's in store!

Happy Birthday Kaley!

Tonight we celebrated Kaley's birthday with dinner at San Antonio Grill and cupcakes at our house. We were a day late with the celebration, but that just made Kaley's birthday extra long--she's been celebrating since Saturday! The kids were all in silly moods tonight, so see below for their funny pictures. We love getting to see all of them! Happy Birthday Kaley!

She refused a "normal" face
Kathryn and Oliver
So silly...
Maci
All of the silly faces!
Yikes!

Not so beautiful day in the neighborhood...

From the very first day I moved into our little house I have loved our neighborhood. It's clean, people are friendly and I've always felt safe. I lived alone there for more than eight months and never once felt uneasy about my safety. Well, that all slightly changed yesterday.


I was standing in my neighbor's driveway chatting after work when another neighbor from down the street pulled up. She was kind enough to explain, in detail, that her house and her neighbor's had been broken into sometime yesterday between 11:00 and 1:00. I was shocked--are people really brave enough to break into a house, one that's barely a driveway's distance from the next none the less, in the middle of the day?!? Obviously so! She hadn't figured out what all was missing yet because her home was completely torn apart, but she did notice that both hers and her husband's jewelry was gone and the kind intruders spilled drinks all over her bed! I really can't get over the nerve, and sense of entitlement that some people have. It's truly disappointing!

Needless to say all of the activity in the neighborhood has made me a little nervous. I freakishly checked the locks last night and was extra cautious going in and out. I'm not usually one to get scared, but this time it was a little too close to home. Our house is already wired for a security system, so who knows, maybe we'll activate it? I'm planning to check into some different providers. I hate to overreact, but on the other hand, I would die if I came home to a kicked in backdoor, a destroyed home and... well who knows what would happen to little Oliver! Better safe than sorry, right?

My all important review...

Thanks to our recent weekend at the each, I have finally finished my latest read--Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. I was hesitant to even begin this book because while I loved the movie version of The Devil Wears Prada I was incredibly disappointed by the book (which doesn't usually happen, movies are typically far less entertaining than the story in print). However, with my upcoming move to a more defined role in Public Relations I was interested to read about the lead character, Bette's, leap into the PR world.

As I muddled through the early chapters I feared that the story would be a complete repeat of Devil Wears Prada--plain Jane steps out of a lack luster life and into NYC mainstream chaos (take out Runway fashion and insert a high profile PR company and there you have it)... well, that proved true, but despite the glaring similarities to her first book, Weisberger managed to create characters I was able to root for and scenarios that actually bordered on realistic. Reader beware--there is not much mystery here. I am usually the last one to figure out who the "bad guy" is, but in this case it was embarrassingly obvious not even half way through the book. However, that aspect of the story line isn't what kept me reading--it was the love story. An unpredictable love triangle kept me turning the pages, pulling so hard for my favorite leading fellow (side note, if this man existed in real life I would insist that my friends pursue him like man eaters).

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book to someone looking for a simple, entertaining story. There's nothing complicated to understand and it's definitely a quick read. Overall, I'd give it a solid B. Now, I need to move on to another book. Maybe this time I should venture into something a bit more... challenging or informative? Any suggestions?

Family Vacay!

We embarked on yet another family vacation on Saturday. We were up and at 'em early that morning and arrived in Destin by lunchtime. We kicked off our weekend of eating excessively and enjoying the sunshine by feasting on a lunch (of complete fried goodness) at the Back Porch and then continued to eat just as much for the rest of the trip. I ate snack foods that I never eat (E.L. Fudges, donuts, Doritos, etc.) and topped them off with incredible dinners at places like Louisiana Lagniappe, Graffiti's and Harbor Docks. I still can't believe all that I ate in such a short amount of time (hey, it's vacation!).

For the other parts of the trip we lounged by the pool (where I caught up on some reading), shopped and genuinely enjoyed each other's company. I realize more and more everyday how fortunate I am that my family gets along so well with my husband. It's nice to all merge into one big happy family. Tuesday came too soon, but all and all it was a fantastic trip! I didn't take many pictures, but a few are below.

Yes, they showed up Saturday morning in matching uniforms

Mom and Dad

My family!

Allie and Brian with us

Two weeks notice... good idea!

I have a new understanding of why most employers only require two weeks notice upon resignation. No one wants, or needs to work more than that--it's simply a bad idea.

I am starting week two of my nearly 4 week notice and I am confident that whoever thought that a month's notice was necessary, or even a good idea, was seriously mistaken. I have worked at the Cancer Center for about a year and a half and in that time, in my natural way, I have kept everything I am responsible for in an order that could be picked up and executed by any one who comes behind me, thus making the transition easy. Having these sort of things done, I assumed that should my time to leave come I would happily be able to work out a bit of a notice and then be on my merry way... not so much. I am SLOWLY transitioning (thanks to all of those folks) and then picking up every meaningless task along the way. Want to know who's organizing other people's e-mails? ME! Hooray, I love really making a difference.

However, the upside is that all of the nonsense that continues to fill my days is making it easier to part ways with an organization that I truly do care about. Some of the people I work with are undeniably some of the nicest people I've ever met and thinking about not coming in and "debriefing" with them in the morning is somewhat depressing. Oh how things work out... I won't even begin to explain that I'll be working the entire weekend FOLLOWING my last day of employment. Yes, that's right I won't be an employee, but am somehow required to come. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about fulfilling responsibilities, but this is far from that, this is payback... Nice!

I'm not going to ramble about this anymore... well at least not today. I'm simply trying to look forward to August 25th!!

Better late than never...

Pre-wedding Dinner at Cocina Superior

(Hallie refused a "normal" face)

The girls at dinner (minus mom and Lynne)

So pretty!

The Bride!

Princess Hallie

I've been really bad about not posting updates lately, due in part to a lack of overall excitement paired equally with my laziness. One important event that I've failed to mention is Lindsay and Adam's wedding. They got married on July 19th. The pictures above are from the festivities. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Daniel!