why?

well, i'm not really sure how or where to begin. the last 12 months have been the most challenging of my life. it all started last august when i witnessed a man take his own life by jumping from a building. obviously this would be a very traumatic event for anyone - the thought that someone is so hopeless and that they feel their only option is to leave this precious life was almost too much for me to handle.

in november, i picked up my entire life and moved to new york city - the most intense (and expensive) city in the country. it's been an amazing adventure but i'd be lying if i said that it's not stressful. everything takes so much energy. just thinking about going to the grocery store makes me tired. and of course, i miss my family and friends. between a break-up and the extreme weather, i'm getting some very tough skin being on this coast.

then in march, one of my dear friends from junior high/high school experienced something so heart breaking and unimaginable. i won't go into detail, as they are still living this nightmare. my prayer is that justice will prevail and everyone involved will be able to find some joy again.

in may, one of my co-workers lost her life at the hands of her guest on a company sponsored trip. while i didn't  really know her other than by name - her death affected our entire organization.

and then came monday, august 1st, 2011 when i got a call that forever changed me. that was the day that the world lost an angel. andy collins was honestly one of the most amazing people i had ever met and he married the love of his life, my sweet friend brooke, only 10 days before his death. he was a man of faith, of integrity and grace...of humor, amazing athleticism and pride. and while my heart is broken for the loss of a friend, it breaks even more when i think of what his bride is going through. i just wish i could take away her pain. i wish she could see her andy again...and hold him. i know it will hurt less with every passing day, but i also know that i will keep andy (and brooke) close to my heart forever. i love you both very much and know we will all laugh together again one day.

Andrew Michael Collins

October 20th, 1983 - August 1st, 2011

read more about andy here.

it's hard not to look back at this year and wonder why? why so much stress, pain, suffering and tragedy? why do the people around me have to hurt so much? i won't trivialize it by saying 'everything happens for a reason.' i know i'm learning lessons in this lifetime and some that won't be revealed until the next. that doesn't mean i have to like it, but i know i will survive it with a little (or a lot) of help.

a blurry july

well, it's my first week back to nyc after being gone for almost a month and i'm finally feeling back to normal (well, almost - i need to clean my apartment, but that can wait until tomorrow). while i'm happy to be back, i had an amazing (and busy - but it's me, so you already knew that) time. here's what kept me running...

• the first day home, i got to spend some time with the kids! we went to an awesome little water park at norpoint - so fun to play in the water with caser! then straight to seattle to get my mani/pedi with mom...i still haven't found a nail salon that does as good of a job out here in ny!
• spent a week in chelan with my folks. scotty came for a couple days, as did aunt lynn. amanda even made a brief cameo. the palmers were also there, which made it even more fun! we got to see not 1 but 2 fireworks shows and i got a lot of relaxing sun time. i can't wait to go back next year!
• then my folks dropped me off in yakima for my good friend, kylee's wedding. it was so fun to catch up with some of my girls (and their boys AND even some parents) and the wedding was beautiful - of course! we laughed and danced the night away. 
• the next day, i jumped on a plane (for the 30 minute flight) and headed to west seattle to co-host melissa's baby shower. it was a beautiful seattle day, and again - so great to catch up with my girls and their mom's and celebrate melissa and jesse's little guy. 
• that next week, i worked back at my old office for a couple days - also so fun to catch up with my favorite coworkers! seems like i never left and they still make me laugh. i also fit in 2 dinners with other friends - cuz you gotta fit it all in - and a going away party for my good friends - brett and mandy, who just moved to england. i'm very excited to go visit!
• then i headed to dallas for the NFL officials clinic, which is an annual event where officials have to pass a series of physical and mental tests, etc. we bring NFL Shield merchandise and set up a mini-store, offering them the opportunity to buy all the Shield stuff they could ever want. it's kind of a status thing for those guys but i totally get it. while in dallas, i was lucky enough to spend some time with my cousin, tiffany and her husband jake. tiff was celebrating her 30th birthday and i was so glad i could be there!
• after dallas, i headed back to seattle and spent a couple days working, enjoying more co-worker time, and happy hours with more friends. we also had a big family dinner at todd and jess.' it was so great to play with the kids, and hug my family. great reminder of how blessed i am!
• then the work madness set in. our sales conference began on wednesday. then thursday, we put on an NFL Play 60 clinic in partnership with the Seahawks and the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County. we had 250 kids - way more than we expected - but it was an amazing day! i'll post some pics soon. 
• that night, we had a big work party at the bell harbor pier in seattle then i headed over to meet the girls for brooke's bachelorette party! then on saturday, brooke and andy tied the knot - again we danced the night away! sunday, i woke up early to fly out. 

i'm exhausted just typing all this. anyway, as i said, it was a great trip but i'm happy to be back - back to a normal routine, back to work, and back to some great gals out here. looking forward to some fun east coast weekends ahead!

my east coast bucket list

since i have no idea how long i'll actually live on the east coast, i've decided that i want to take full advantage of it. that said, i've been adding things to an imaginary list for sometime and figure the best way to make sure i can successfully check things off this list, i needed to actually write one out. so here goes:

• visit niagara falls
• spend a weekend in the hampton's, or on the cape, or at the vineyard
• go to the us open
• spend a day at coney island - ride the rides, eat a hot dog
• spend a weekend in atlantic city
• go to the bahamas, or the us virgin islands - or both. with such a short flight, i HAVE to, right?
• go to philly for a night
• go to boston for a night and see the red sox
• hit up the jersey shore - i need to see the origin of the fist pump
• lose 10lbs
• go to ellis island
• go to the driving range at chelsea pier
• visit brooke in florida
• take up yoga again
• have a bon fire on the beach somewhere!
• attempt the trapeze again
• ride bikes on governor's island
• go to the catskills and go on a hike

that's all i can think of right now but i know i'll be adding and checking things off the list!

nyc fun!

so this past weekend on a whim i decided to go to a polo match. it's on my 'east coast bucket list' as i like to call it. i have no idea how long i'll be out here so i'm trying to take advantage of as much stuff as possible. that said, i could not pass up an opportunity to attend an event that is synonymous with new york elitism. and let me tell you...it was a blast! the champagne, the fashion, the people - i loved every second of it - and not because i wanted to fit it. more because it's like going to the zoo to look at all the animals. anyway, here are some fun pix (for those of you who aren't on fb). and yes, i did participate in the stomping of the divots. just call me julia roberts (minus the 'profession', of course).

march, and april, and may...agh!

wow. i cannot believe it's already JUNE!!! i'm going to have to look back at the calendar (and facebook) to remember all the things i've been up to these last 3 (eek!) months. 


here we go!


march ~

• i had a couple meetings in miami at the beginning of the month so i decided to make a nice long weekend out of it and spent a couple days by the pool at the fontainebleau. it was so nice to get some sun after the lllllllooooooonnnnngggg and brutal north east winter. 
• i got to go to one of the big east championship basketball games at msg to watch the darling of the tournament, kemba walker. our seats were practically courtside and for any of you who have been to msg, it's a pretty amazing place to watch a game. 
• then, jenna and brooke came to visit over st. partick's day. we had such a fun weekend - toured the city on the hop on/hop off bus, bar hopped, laughed, met fun people and just enjoyed the city. i can't wait for them to come back!
• toward the end of the month, jen flew out for an impromptu trip. we rented a car and drove to dc to be with our sweet friend. we got lucky and also got to experience the cherry blossom festival, which was so amazing. it was a long car ride and a taxing weekend but i'm glad we did it.

april ~

• april brought some slightly better weather here in the city, allowing me some much needed city exploration. i walked across the brooklyn bridge which was pretty awesome. my favorite part was all the locks that lined the fences. i learned that they're called love padlocks. how can it not make you smile? i also found a couple other fun places - the chelsea market and eataly. one of these days, i'll buy all the groceries for 1 amazing italian dinner at eataly...i can dream, right? and sadly (maybe not so sadly), i discovered tasti d'lite - THE best frozen yogurt shop right by my place. yum yum. 
• for easter, i got to fly home for a VERY quick trip...literally on the ground for 30 hours but surprisingly, i was able to squeeze a lot into the weekend. lots of rocco time; lunch with my folks at the ram on ruston way; mani/pedi with mom, jess, cindy and hailey; drinks with melissa, molly and gina at salty's - it was a beautiful day in the pnw;  dinner with mom, dad, lynn and shelly; easter church service and brunch with the whole family and more rocco time! it was so nice to be with everyone!!
• april also brought the NFL Draft - the 2nd most crazy event for us. things leading up to the draft were quite busy (and we won't even mention that my computer crashed and our emails were down - ugh). we supplied 10,000 fan bags for the 3 day event. a very rewarding (read stressful) event for me personally and professionally. (side note - i was so bummed that jake locker didn't attend the draft! while i completely understand not wanting to be there if he didn't know if he was going day 1 or 2, but i was really hoping to snap an 'after' shot). 
• the rest of the weekend brought fun times with out of town friends - yankees game and then the NFL Players Association Draft party at cipriani, which is a super swanky restaurant/banquette facility in wall street, amongst other locations in the city. such an amazing weekend!

may ~

• my may started off with a bang. we hosted a suite night at the mets game. citi field is amazing (the mets, not so much). my mind is constantly blown when we can just leave work, jump on a subway and end up at a cool place like a ball park, all within an hour. we even had shake shack delivered to our suite. anyone who's been to a shake shack in nyc will absolutely appreciate this - right daddy (wink, wink)?
• spent a fun afternoon in hoboken with my lovely friend felicia. we went wine tasting and then watched the kentucky derby at a cool waterfront bar with a great view of nyc. 
• THEN - the big weekend was finally here. my mom, dad and brother came to the city to celebrate our 31st birthday. upon their arrival, my brother got news that his truck was stolen back in tacoma. based on advise he received from the precinct back in gig harbor, we made our way to a police station near my apartment. needless to say, the help we received was more like not-helpful but it still makes for a good story. we walked, ate, rode the hop on/hop off bus, laughed, watched the justin bieber movie (YUP!!! i said it!!) walked some more, rode the subway, went to ground zero, walked through central park, enjoyed some shake shack, traveled to the top of the rock and walked some more. we had a fabulous dinner to celebrate our 31st at banc cafe.  on sunday, we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the hudson and east rivers, where we dined, danced and laughed - yes, they played 'love shack'. it was definitely the highlight of the weekend! it was so great to have my family in my new home. 
• since then, i've just been enjoying the city with friends (in and out of town), did some washington wine tasting, been sitting in the SUN on my rooftop deck, working out, working (yes, i still LOVE my job!), and went to mcqueen's savage beauty exhibit at the met (weird but fashionably cool).

here are some other tidbits:

• celeb sightings - so far, only 1 that i know of. jeremy sisto out for sunday brunch at the diner in the meatpacking district.
• notable restaurants i've sampled - del friscos (amazing steak and lobster!), dos caminos (multiple locations - GREAT guac!), pastis (you'll recognize the red awning from snl and satc - the food is worth EVERY penny!), the spice market (featured on bethenny ever after), the gansevoort (great rooftop bar but you pay for the view), vezzo, southern hospitality, and brother jimmy's (best bbq on earth!). i'm sure there are others but that's all i can think of right now. let's just say that i'm not starving.

now just gearing up for a fun filled, sunny and HOT june. looking forward to bbq'ing (one of the things i miss about the space of seattle), a couple more baseball games, and a concert on governor's island (i could not be more excited about it!!). 


i can't believe i've been here for 6 months. and yes, to answer the burning questions - i love it. i'm not in any hurry to move home. in fact, i've just extended my contract here through the end of the 2012 season (which means february 2013!). lots more to learn and plenty more growing to do. 

ok, i'm spent. there's a snapshot of my last 3 months. i've been trying to add photos but blogger and i are fighting - she's clearly mad that i've been ignoring her for the last 3 months. i'll try to put some up but in the meantime, head over to my fb page.

ah...that's more like it.

it's so nice to get back to a normal pace of life. i feel like i can breathe again. i still absolutely love it here. cold but blue skies everyday. spring is JUST around the corner...i can smell it. and there's lots to look forward to. visitors, spring clothes, knicks games and baseball season!! so excited! i'll try to be better at the picture taking. oh, and the workouts are going really well, too...i know you were curious. cheers!

the whirlwind that is my life...

let me state the obvious, i've been a horrible blogger. let's just say that for the last month and a half, i couldn't tell you which way is up. thankfully, things have finally calmed down and i'm getting back into a normal routine. 'what have i been up to?' you ask. here's a quick rundown. 

starting in mid-january, things at work kicked into HIGH gear getting ready for the super bowl. we worked 15 hours a day for pretty much 2 weeks straight. even on the weekends, ending up in warehouses, taking possession of merchandise, coordinating deliveries, driving to clients' houses...i'm starting to itch just thinking about it all again. i've learned more about logistics in the last 4 weeks than i ever cared to know. but if you need someone to pull some strings with fedex, i'm your gal. ok, enough about that...onto the fun stuff. 

somehow i pulled the short straw and had to go to hawaii for the pro bowl before heading to dallas for the super bowl. that allowed me to have a quick weekend at home. it was SOOOO nice to be back in seattle with my family and friends...and my dog. man i miss that little guy. even though i was still working like crazy and dealing with car issues (i still haven't sold the darn thing), i got to have some fun ~ night out on the town with friends, dinner with the girls, and a good old family dinner. it was a great weekend and definitely made me a little home sick. 

then, i jumped on a plane and headed to hawaii. we provided all the player gift bags, client bags, game day seat cushions and player watches for the event so i coordinated the room drops for 150+ guests. i was lucky enough to stay at the player hotel which means the place was crawling with the nfl's best of the best. i didn't get much time in the sun and it poured on game day, but i was there for work so i guess i can't complain.

after my duties in hawaii were finished, i jumped on a red eye to dallas. thankfully i was able to sleep BUT there was an ice storm in dallas the night before and the airport was closed. we had to circle for a couple hours in the air and wait for the airport to open. we were the first flight to land in dallas that morning and then i had to drive to the hotel. i rented the best 4wd car they had and crawled on the roads going 30mph...which was basically how it was the whole week. after the first couple days in dallas, work finally calmed down and then the super bowl parties began. we had a fab team dinner in downtown dallas, then our group ended up at a club where we saw a couple of the black eyed peas. the next night, we went to the commissioner's party and saw martina mcbride perform. that's where i ran into jake locker. honestly, the highlight of the trip. i spent a week in hawaii with pro players and didn't take 1 picture. i saw locker and made a bee line for him. i was so excited!! enjoy!

after that, we headed to the nfl player association party, which was also a blast! in addition to all the players that were in dallas for the big game, i saw david spade, tracy morgan, and then nene & cat from the real housewives. the next night, we went to the charity event 'the taste of the nfl' and had lots of yummy food, then headed over to the nfl's main saturday night party where we saw faith hill perform with the pretenders, in a live taping of cmt's crossroads. very fun.

the next morning, our team headed to the stadium to finish staging it with seat cushions. it's no secret that there was a major seat catastrophe. i'll save that story for an in person explanation...don't want to upset my good friend, the commissioner. anyway, after all the drama, we made it to the game and it was so fun! what a great game and definitely a once in a lifetime experience. 

now i'm back in ny and couldn't be happier. i just love it here. i love my apartment, i love my job, love this city. it's so nice to get back to a normal pace of life. i joined a gym and have a trainer to get back into shape. definitely happy to have normal weather again as well. i went from snow in ny to mild weather in seattle, to 90 degree weather and monsoons in hawaii, to snow and ice storms in dallas. now looking forward to having some girlfriends out in the next month. lots of fun stuff ahead!!! i'll try to be better about blogging and posting pictures. until next time!

snow storm december 2010!

here's a pic of the snow outside of my place back in december. fingers crossed THIS doesn't happen again...but it sure is puuuurdy!