Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Hello from Mormon Country...

...I am currently sitting in my hotel room watching TV and kicking back from a busy day of training. I was given the opportunity to attend a sales training course being hosted by one of the sister company's that the company I work for owns. It has been great, not that I am getting back into sales...honestly I never left...don't kid yourself in thinking that once you become a manager that you no longer are "bothered" by the daily tasks of conducting business...cause guess what you still are...I digress...

Anyways it has been a great refresher and given me new ways of looking at my current ways of handling business. It has also given me an opportunity to check out yet another city & state I have never been to...Utah and more specifically Salt Lake City...this place is definitely different...a lot of Mormons, who would have thought? I have checked out the Temple, the Tabernacle, ate at a lot of great restaurants and plan on heading to Park City tomorrow night.

Usually I am not this social after hours on work trips but I am traveling with one of my staff and there are also others attending training from out of town. It's nice to have people to talk to versus working and heading back to hunker down in my room for the night...because really that gets old, boring and at times lonely. Speaking of lonely I miss my guys terribly...I constantly worry about how my travel affects them and in my own selfishness wonder if they miss me as much as I miss them...

So that's all for tonight just a little tid bit of what I am up to and hopefully I can muster the energy to write a little more of about what has been happening at Casa del Gadient...

Till next time, I will be counting the days, hours, & minutes until I see my guys...

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Yes Virginia, Jen still has a blog....

...so here we are again, except this time I can't even believe how long I have left this little blog of mine vacant (despite the numerous messages, complaints, etc...from all of you as "reminders")...poor thing, she has been sorely neglected.

BUT...new year = fresh slate = chance to redeem myself in the blogosphere! I am actually giddy at the thought of a fresh start...because you know a lot has happened since I last posted and although much of it has been captured on my other technology vice a.k.a Twitter it's just not as good as the real thing.

Currently I am sitting in front of the fire (a REAL fire btw) at my Grandma's house with a glass of vino as my side kick. I have spent the last 4 days here and the level of rejuvenation I am feeling is astounding. My time has been spent loving on my kiddos, laughing out loud, sleeping, drinking, playing cards & driving those that I love crazy with my outrageous singing and at the end of the day it is exactly what I needed to realign my life post 2009.

So how was 2009 you may ask? Good. There were struggles with work (honestly that is an understatement for both the Mr & I), challenges of the unknown, and the loss of a loved one but there was so much more that was good, real good...having a family I love & adore, we were & still are healthy, we have two handsome & wonderful boys, we have jobs, we have a home, we have debt...I was doing so well until that last statement...but in all honesty I REALLY can't complain, life simply has been as it should, good/bad and everything in between.

So where are we headed in 2010? Well I hope for more of the same (at least the good stuff), but as many of you have done, I too have compiled a list of resolutions that I am going to strive to accomplish in the New Year...cliche I know, but that is how I roll. So here it goes, in no particular order, Vino Mommy's resolutions for 2010:

1. Exercise - Yes, I am using a blanket statement as I currently have no exercise plan, but trust me, I could stand to lose a few lbs (ok alot, but baby steps)...the hope is that by exercising I will have an outlet for my stress & oh yeah lose some pounds in the process.

2. Blog on a Regular Basis - Yes, hard to believe it would make the list, but I am determined to blog more than 1x every 3 months! Plus secretly I know you all want me to...

3. Reduce Our Debt - We make good money, nothing outrageous but good and what do we have to show for this DEBT...I hate it, loathe it, but can no longer hide it. I am determined to make a concerted effort to spend less...even if it means drinking less Vino...that might be a little harsh, how about "cheaper" Vino to accomplish our goals.

4. Expansion of Our Family - WE...yes the Mr & I need to make a decision of whether or not expand our family with another Bambino. Sounds so simple, but alas it is not. There are many pros & cons and frankly we just need to figure it out...the boys are getting older and so are we...I just wish I knew what the answer was...I have a feeling what the end result will be but you never know...

5. Work/Life Balance - I am continuously on the search for balance with my life & career...my life from 8 - 5 (I laughed as typed that) is more than just a job, it's my career. I have been carefully paving a path to where I am at today. Sometimes it was being in the right place at the right time and much of it is due to hard work & sacrifice. At the end of day I am always looking for balance, it may not always be equal, but balanced none the less so that I can continue on my journey while not losing sight of what means most to me.

7. Clean the Clutter - Specifically I want to get rid of the shit that plagues our basement & my craft room (many of you probably never knew we had either...). Now hear me out when I say we are a far cry from being the next "victim" on Hoarders...but I really want to transform those rooms into usable space vs a catch all for crap.

8. Focus - I am not referring to some adult onset ADD...I just want to be able to practice what I preached for so long, which is essentially be present with whom ever you are with or whatever you are doing. I seem to become increasingly distracted by the ever expanding technologies...texting, tweeting, blogging, etc...all of which has made me a little less present for those that I love and the things that I do.

So there you go, I am sure many of you would prefer a more rounded out list say to 10, but my blog, my list, my way...plus 8 seems like a number I can stick with. I plan on keeping you all posted on my progress and what my plans are to ensure that I accomplish these goals. As a wise person once said "hope is not a plan" so I guess I can't go with that route...

To all of you, thanks for sticking with me during the "dry spell" of 2009 and here's to an incredible 2010!