A new adventure!

Well, it's been forever since I have written and a lot has happened. My husband Bill happens to be an assistant manager for Edwin Watts Golf Shops. We have always had many discussions about his occupation at which is he wildly successful. We always discussed how I wished Bill had the same career ambition, motivation, and drive as I had. Well, all I have to say, is be careful what you wish for. In the spirit of being ambitious, Bill applied for a manager position in Tallahassee. He applied and we waited to hear....

I heard that he had applied and I had mixed emotions but I chose to go with it. Well, low and behold Bill got the job, we are moving to Tallahassee. As soon as I got the phone call from Bill, I was immediately nauseated and I proceeded to melt down all the while pretending to be thrilled for him. Truth is, I am very happy and proud of him and this is a huge step for him. He's trying to make our life better and he's a better man for it.

So on to Tallahassee we will go. This will be a great adventure and I look forward to see what's down the road for us. Until then, please pray for us. I will keep you posted.

Enjoy your view!

Bring on Obama!

Whew, I'm glad all the political bull is finally over! We finally got it right, we voted for the RIGHT guy! I can't tell you how happy I am that Barack is our guy! I was at the gym early Tuesday morning watching the Today show as they started with the importance of the election, the importance of voting, and what our country would be like under McCain and Obama. They painted two very different pictures about how each would take their turn at one of the "most powerful jobs in America." God Bless them.

They showed Barack Obama actually casting his vote with his family in tow. I literally got goose bumps, and they very rarely happens to me. It then hit me, the magnitude of what he was about to accomplish. He's amazingly intelligent, articulate, eloquent, mesmerizing, and enormously popular. With all that being said, he also appears very down to earth and NORMAL. His life appears stable (as stable as it can be in the public eye), and free of drama, his family intact, and his vision for America spot on. We will see what the future holds for him. His life will definitely change, his family uprooted, and his beliefs and ideas challenged. He's up to it though, I'm excited to see what he has in store for us.

I heard on the news this morning, "To the Victor, Goes the Mess." Yes, he has a mess on his hands, but I'm confident he will clean it up for us. Plus, we also get Michelle and those beautiful little girls who will no doubt make some wonderful memories while in the White House.

GO OBAMA!!!!

A learning experience

I truly believe that learning experiences can help in defining you as a person. They are both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. They can break you down then turn around and build you up in the same setting. It's interesting how people handle learning experiences. By definition, they are just that "an experience where you learn something new or something different." How you handle your learning experience is your choice.

That being said, I welcome learning experiences for the most part. I know I am far from "knowing it all" and I like to learn different things. Being as though I'm very impatient I like to learn them yesterday as opposed to a natural learning curve. In fact, I'm very hard on myself if I'm taught something one day and I can't nail it the next day. It's like I'm disappointed if I'm not great at it right off the bat.

I had to give two presentations at work yesterday and the first one sucked more than the second, nonetheless, they were both pretty pathetic. Granted, it's new material for me at work, but I have been doing presentations for my company for about 15 months. I just froze up, I didn't have answers for questions and my speech was rapid and my thoughts disorganized. I am laughing now as I recall the presentation.

So I will chalk it up to a learning experience and attempt to do better the next time. The good news for me is the next time is tomorrow. This brings me to one of my favorite quotes my baseball player Mo Vaughn, "Pressure comes from fear, and fear comes from no preparation." That quote speaks volumes and so tonight I will prepare as well as I can!

Wish me luck!

My Chi Town Pad

I happen to be in my favorite city this week for work. I arrived in Chicago this afternoon feeling both excited to be returning to this city and anxious about the massive amount of work to come. All in all, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

I am staying at a different hotel that doubles as apartments that can be leased on a month to month basis. It's odd but in staying here, I feel as though this is my apartment in the city. Since I have been coming here for work I have envisioned myself having a condo here. I could honestly see myself living in this city and embracing the Chicago Lifestyle. Chicago is addicting, the magnificent mile is inspiring, and the hustle and bustle of city life is enticing.

So for this week, I will pretend I am a resident of downtown Chicago and all that goes with it. I realize this thinking is juvenile and silly but dreams have to have a starting point, right??

So I will continue to play the dream in my head and eventually these dreams will turn to reality. We will see how things play out, and time will tell what story will come next.

Enjoy your view, I certainly am!

"Making Mountains out of Mole Hills"

Bill always tells me, "Autumn, you make mountains out of mole hills." I think the statement is always so funny because I over analyze everything and stress and worry about everything. On the contrary, he doesn't analyze, stress, or worry about anything. That's why we are a good match. I'm sure a good portion of him thinks that things will be fine because I will take care of it and I usually do (whether I want to or not!) He also takes care of me which is really important.

I want to get the chores done in 1 or 2 days, he says "they can wait." I have a never ending list of things I need to get done on my days off and he prefers watching tv or college football on his day off. I worry about how much money we have, how much money we spend, and what bills are due when. I budget everything. He has money, he will spend all of it, period. He doesn't worry about about budgets or expenses. I truly believe he feels being the "banker" is my job and I willingly accept it.

He's handy, I'm not. I worry if something breaks how we will fix it? He says, "don't worry I will fix it, don't make mountains out of mole hills." He thinks I stress too much about everything and wonders why the hell I can't "slow down." He wonders why I work so much and why I just can't relax and lay down when we're at home watching tv. I don't know we are just so different we are alike and it's great.

It's both interesting and frustrating to see how we handle different things on different levels. Differences aside, we do have a lot of fun together.

Variety is the spice of life.

Arnie's Place

Every once in awhile I'm truly in awe of someone or something. It might be a new person I get the pleasure of meeting who's been through a lot or has a unique story to tell. It might be a celebrity we see around town or it might be a new and exciting place we get to go to.

Bill and I had an amazing opportunity yesterday and we took full advantage. We got to play golf at Bay Hill here in Orlando. Now, for some that's not too exciting. For Bill and I, it was pretty awesome. Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill is rich with history and it's an erie feeling just walking through the clubhouse. The walls are lined with numerous photos of Arnold Palmer and other golfers and sports figures. You can actually "feel" the history walking on the grounds. It's just amazing, I wonder if he's actually inspired as he walks through his club? What does he think of? Does he just sit and reflect? Is he amazed with how his life turned out?

The clubhouse itself is dark, older, and maybe even a bit musty but every table in dining room was packed and the golf course was jamming. We got to play by ourselves which was a nice treat and just experience the course. I guess we are easily amused or maybe just really blessed that we get to go to places people can only dream of.

We also went to dinner last night at BB King's jazz/blues restaurant in Pointe Orlando. Now, I don't listen to BB King, not a big jazz fan, and I know him more for being a spokesperson for having Diabetes than attending any shows/concerts he has put on. However, Bill and I were looking to try a new restaurant and we happened to pick BB's. The food was AMAZING and the atmosphere was wonderful. We will definitely go back there again.

As I sit here typing, I would have never imagined we would have gone to Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill and BB King's for dinner....two totally different worlds. Diversity is a great thing though, it makes one well rounded!!

Enjoy your view!

Hot Chocolate Kinda Day

It's gross here...it's raining and slightly chilly. Fay is still lingering around the state of Florida. To deal with the ugliness of the day, this afternoon I have a cup of hot cocoa and I'm curled up with my computer and my dog laying on my bed. As I sit here on my bed returning emails and arranging meetings for next week in California I realize I'm in a really good place.

It's funny what is comforting to me. I like feeling in my safe home and I feel cozy just sitting inside hearing the rain, watching the wind, and having Summitt at my feet. The only thing that would make this better would be if the rain were snow, I was sitting in front of a fireplace, and I had my whole family with me.

Oh to live where it's cold.....all in due time I'm hoping....but for now I love my life.

Enjoy your view