PEAK - leaving for Maui tomorrow!

It is finally almost here, we will be flying to Maui tomorrow!

Rylan Levi Bell

We have a new nephew!  Rylan was born yesterday afternoon and he is such a cutie pie!  He weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces at birth.  Both Emily and Rylan are doing very well and we were lucky enough to get to visit with them last night for about an hour.  Congratulations to Emily and Jack and welcome to family Rylan!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He fought tirelessly to change the way our nation viewed race and challenged people to see the injustice in treating people differently based on race.  He certainly did not do this alone but I have always admired his charisma, leadership, and speaking abilities.  In honor of MLK day I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes from this incredible person and legendary civil rights activist. 

 “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

“Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress”

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend”

“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.  We have guided missiles and misguided men”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy”

Being Present

We are in the middle of a great series for our high school kids talking about past, present, and future.  I am always so amazed by how applicable a lot of the lessons are even within my own life.  There are just some things that are timeless truths.  This week we learned about embracing the present.  We watched an incredible video by Rob Bell (Nooma.com) that started several chains of thought for me.  The message explains how much time we waste by wishing things could be as they were in the past.  We dwell in past stories and experiences and focus our energy on remembering those things.  We often do this to the point where we are so busy looking back that we miss the current moments. 

I have been guilty of this plenty of times.  This past year I had several friends move to other states.  I spent a lot of time in 2011 dwelling on how much I missed them and how I wish things were back to the way they were.  I was so focused on this at times that I missed opportunities to spend time with potential new friends.  Changing my thought process doesn’t mean I love my out of state friends any less but it does mean I can’t sit around dwelling in how much I miss them.  That mindset won’t change their location and it won’t bring me any closer to building new friendships.

I think we get very comfortable in our lives and change scares us.  The issue with this is that life is always changing.  People get sick, people move, friends change, people die, people grow apart, and our circumstances are always changing.  If we cling too heavily to something stationary in the past it will only cause us to be pulled in too many directions.  We can cherish our memories but we must recognize that they are memories; they part of the fabric that made us who we are but they are not the whole tapestry.  The lesson challenged us all to embrace today.  There are opportunities all around us if we can only increase our awareness of the present moment and capitalize on those things. 

“The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift – that is why they call it the present”

Here is a brief trailer from the video we watched – you can buy the full video download online and I promise it is worth it!

Resolutions: Week 2 Check-In

The New Year’s resolution about being eating healthy is going very well.  So far Kyle has lost 6 pounds and I have lost 3.  We are very pleased and it is helping us stay motivated.  We have been shopping at Trader Joe’s and they have some really incredible options that fit within out calorie limits for each day.  Whoever says eating healthy tastes bad obviously hasn’t been to Trader Joe’s!  I am also obsessed with a new app on my phone called Fitness Pal.  Calorie counting has never been easier with the barcode scanner which hasn’t failed me yet.  Wish us increased metabolism and continued motivation!

The positive news aside I thought I would share a very humorous depiction of what the first few days were like for us.  For the first few days we were tired and cranky and this picture sums it all up.





Kyle is calling DirecTV today to get us started on our second resolution of dropping cable.  I am excited but probably also in denial.

Picasso to Warhol @ the Atlanta High Museum

Over the holiday break I had the privilege to experience this exhibit at the High Museum.  The exhibit contained from 14 modern masters and started with Picasso and worked through to Warhol.  The collection of works was very diverse and we had our own tour guide in our friends Alex (who was an art major and had studied most of the pieces in college).  There were three pieces that really stood out to me as my favorites.

The first is the “Girl before a Mirror” by Picasso.  We liked this one so much we purchased a print for our house.  We both giddily announced that Picasso was coming home with us.  The piece depicts a woman and her reflection in a mirror.  She is colorful and complex and truly beautiful in a non-traditional way. 



The next was “The Dance” by Henri Matisse.  Who could have seen that coming?  It is a very simple concept but the feeling movement and the scale of the piece are what make it extraordinary.  In looking at the piece you can feel yourself there watching them dancing and wanting to join in.  It has a joy and simplicity that just won me over.



The third was “Person Throwing a Stone at a Bird” by Joan Miró.  It is an odd piece but it really piqued my interest.  It depicts an oversimplified human form shooting a stone at a bird.  The colors are very vivid and it seems to challenge the viewer to look at life through a different set of eyes. 

2012 Resolutions

So I think we all know resolutions can be silly because generally it invigorates us for only a few short weeks and then they fizzle out and we return to our terrible habits.  Even knowing this Kyle and I have a few resolutions for 2012.  The first of which is good because it’s a change we make once during our motivated phase and it is semi-permanent.  We are getting rid of cable TV.  We have become sadly addicted to mindless shows and spend way too much time parked on our couch in front of our TV.  This will be a major adjustment at first but once we get used to it I think we will be a lot more productive and spend a lot more quality time together.  I know I can handle it because I grew up without cable and I spent a lot more time reading, exercising, and talking to friends/family.   It also will be nice to save $60 a month! 

The second is to focus on being healthier by improving our diet and exercise.  This one is cliché and everyone sets this goal but I honestly hope that we stick to our guns and see it through.  Wish us luck!

2011 Recap

I can’t believe it has been a whole year since I started my blogging adventure.  I would like to first begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  It is officially 2012 and the start a new year.  I loved my 2012 recap last year so I have decided to make it a tradition on my blog. 

This year was an incredible year for me in my career.  I am now a manager and have enjoyed the role tremendously and have loved taking on new challenges.  Two of my favorite milestones were winning the PEAK award which includes an all expense paid trip to Hawaii later this month.  The other favorite was getting one of my team members promoted.  He truly deserves it and it felt great to be able to help him take the next step in his career.

In life outside of work two of my best friends got married and I could not be happier for them!  We took some incredible trips and enjoyed time with our friends and family.  I think we have really seen the friends in our lives who will be always be there and we have really focused in on those relationships.  We saw a few friends move to other cities this past year but time has shown that distance is no barrier between true friends. 

Here is a recap of some of my favorite moments or milestones from 2011.

·         I started my blog and posted 115 blog entries

·         I was promoted to a management position in February

·         Kyle graduated with his Master’s Degree

·         My best friend Alyssa got married on October 1^st, 2011

·         Kim and Austin got engaged – it was a fairytale proposal

·         One of my best friends Stephanie got married on August 27^th, 2011

·         We spent our 4^th year with the high school kids in Ignition – including our third trip to BigStuf

·         Our 3^rd trip to 12 Mile Indiana for the 4^th of July

·         Our 4^th Annual Christmas Party – featuring an incredible photo booth

·         Bachelorette Girls Trip to Miami

·         I won the PEAK award at work – we’ll heading to Hawaii later this month for the trip

·         I finally upgraded to a Droid

·         An acquisition of my company was announced and called off

·         I joined and fell in love with Pinterest

·         Several redesign projects in our house