Happy Holidays Everyone

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday. I am looking forward to 5 days out of the office, spending some quality time in Maine with family. This year has been full of change followed by happiness.

I managed to have three jobs in one year... not something I recommend or would have planned, but I couldn't be happier. And in each experience I learned more about myself and my strengths. Probably the most important being: it's easier to focus on your strengths and just do that than to try to rid yourself of your weaknesses.

Shane and I were engaged in February, and as blissful as I wanted "being engaged" to be, there is nothing blissful about planning a wedding. But in order to plan a party that pulls in friends and family from across the country, it had to be big, and it will be. We are so excited for July 17th and even more for the honeymoon, when I can kiss the wedding planning guide goodbye!

No year passes without milestones sad and happy ones: The passing of an Uncle- a truly amazing man, the celebration of my grandfathers 90th, the celebration of my 30th, weddings and births for good friends.

Each year that passes only makes me more thankful for all that I have: health, family, happiness and someone to share it with.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

No matter what, golfing matters less than Healthcare

I grew up golfing. I played Jr. Golf starting at age 7 and went into retirement at 17. At 21 I realized that if I was going to work in technology sales in the bay area, I was probably going to have to play again. So, now, 9 years later, I play 1-2 times a year, max. Golfing or anything about golfing should matter a LOT less than Healthcare.

But all the sudden our country cares more about a golfers extracurricular than they do about the way that we receive health care in this country. Tiger isn't going to affect the doctors you can see for the rest of your life. His "companions" aren't going to be the nurses that care for you as you recover from your heart attack, at least you better hope not. Elin doesn't care if you have to pay 50% of your income to pay off hospital bills, she's going back to Sweden, which has government funded healtcare if you care.

We all need a little gut check on our priorities. We need to quit clicking on the tiger stories and instead tune into CSPAN to see what's going to make a difference in our lives.

COME ON PEOPLE!!!!

Happy states- I just keep getting happier

I just read this interesting article on the "Happiest States"and I realized that I have managed to go from 18 to 9 to the 8th happiest state in my lifetime... Not bad. I do have to say, the one suprise on this list was # 5. I am going to claim ignorance, because I have never been there. And if anyone has any insight, do let me know. Check out the link, it's an interesting read.

My difference may not be great, but it means something to someone

I just read the most lovely blog post, and it was about me. Me. and I didn't write it. I am incredibly flattered and overwhelmed.

I am often inspired by LARGE acts of kindness. I often wonder if I am supposed to be running a non-profit for pennies and making all of my other dreams (financially focused ones) fall to the side.

And then I am faced with a blog post that illustrates that while my gestures aren't grand. They are noticed. And to the people that matter most to me, that makes me happy, beyond belief.

To Alana and Emily. I miss you both terribly and thank you, you made coming into work fun and inspiring!

Get back on the horse- man!

After the long weekend I am invigorated and have a new found love for my blog. I feel like I have been ignoring it and updating so infrequently that my readers, may not know exactly what's been going on. For that I apologize. All that being said. What have I been up to?

This past weekend we went to Atlanta to visit family. They are our only niece and nephews. As many of you know, I love kids. I am biased and will say blatantly, that I love these kids more than most. They are all so unique and hysterical. Of course, they are not without their fits and arguments, but some of that is even more interesting. To watch children interact with their siblings is a true study in human development.

One of my favorite things was dancing with all of them to Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA, Flo Rida's Right Round and I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. There is something so freeing about dancing with kids. They don't care who's watching and what people think, they just move. I can't wait for the wedding, we are going to CUT A RUG!

Update: New Blog for the X-country trip

All, Paul, Hannah, Keith, Renee and Michelle and their two dogs: Millie and Cooper have started a blog about their cross country trip and their hopes of landing a sponsor. I am excited to promote their efforts and hope that they can make the most of this chance to travel our beautiful country. http://eastwestandback.blogspot.com/

How would you get to a cross country wedding?

We have great friends. We have inventive friends. We have creative friends. It's one of the reasons they made the "A-list" for the wedding. ;-)

As many of you know, I moved from the West Coast to the East Coast 3 years ago because I met the man who I knew would be my husband. It took him some time, but 2.5 years in he finally sealed the deal with an awesome ring... the one from his great grandmother.

I am probably one of the luckiest girls I know... And in order to share all that I love with all that Shane loves, we are getting married in Bend, Oregon (Sunriver to be exact) in July 2010.

We are also lucky to have our "everyday friends" Paul and Hannah in our wedding. And they, being creative and inventive are trying to get a large brand to sponsor their trip across country.

5 people, 2 dogs, 1 RV, 3 weeks: AWESOME!!!

I turned 30 on Nantucket

My thirtieth birthday could not have been better. I wanted to be out of the city, trying something new and outside. Shane planned an entire weekend to Nantucket because neither of us have been to the island, and we thought it would be a fun adventure. I did a few new things in Nantucket one of which was staying in a B&B. I had always been a little scared of the close quarters, but the Seven Sea Street Inn was perfect! We weren't adventurous enough to eat breakfast with the other lodgers, but we can check "staying at a B&B" off the list. We spent time at the beaches, ate amazing food at the Pearl and Lola41, met some cool new people and Shane's favorite- we rented a scooter. It was one of the best weekends of all time, and we were so sad to leave on the Ferry on Monday. But what a great way to say goodbye to a super fun decade and welcome a new one that looks to be even brighter?!?!

New musician find

Loving the new album from Eric Hutchinson... He's on a west coast tour right now, so enjoy you left coasters! Great lyrics and fun rhythm!

Stairs and general working out

As I noted I started a new job at the beginning of July and it's 6 blocks from my house and 5 stories up. I was sure that after 6 weeks the stairs and I would be kindred spirits, quiet companions that enjoyed each others company. I would be getting a much needed workout while getting to the office and the stairs would get a much needed climbing, if you are a staircase isn't that what you want, to be climbed? Maybe, if stairs had feelings...

So the stair cases in floors 1-4 are great. I am content, no real heavy breathing, I barely notice them and I am sure they are content to have me climbing them every morning and lunchtime.

And then there is the staircase between floors 4 and 5. I am convinced it is steeper than any other flight of stairs, and it definitely has more steps than the 2nd and 3rd floors (old building doesn't have equally sized floors) This staircase and I are still not friends after 6 weeks of continual climbing... no love, lots of out of breath mornings and afternoons...

Aaaahhh staircase, if only we could be BFF's... off to lunch, and another attempt to make you by friend or at least quiet companion.

my name

When I meet new people or start a new job or have to apply for anything online or even purchase something online and people have to verify the spelling of my name it always takes time.

And then there are times like today when even I can't get it right, my fingers just can't type all of those letters together in the right order some days. T-H-E-R-E-A-S-A... It's a lot.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I will probably never be confused with another Thereasa Fullmer, unless I decide to name my daughter Thereasa (see Gilmore Girls reference).

So, thanks mom for taking Latin in high school and deciding that my name would sound like Ter-sa if it weren't for that extra "a", and the "h."

New job!

Hey all, in case you aren't on facebook, I managed to get a new job already. I am now working for a really fun tech consumer company: springpad- www.springpadit.com. It's 5 blocks from my house, so not only am I able to help out the environment, but I can also save $$ and tons of stress!
Springpad is basically an online organizer. By collecting things you find on the web and storing them in one location you can then use them to create shopping lists, track budgets, organize appointments and to-do's, etc.

A few notes to the Boston Public Works Dept

The Boston Public Works Department is responsible for street cleaning. They are also in charge of trash and recycling pick up. I find it interesting that in Charlestown trash pick up is Wednesday. And yet they schedule street cleaning for Tuesday. This does not seem logical: to have trash pick up, which invariably leaves leftover trash all along the sides of the streets and sidewalks, 6 days before the next street cleaning.

I would think that someone in the Public Works department would either suggest that maybe we move the street cleaning day to a day closer to the trash pick up or maybe move the trash day closer to the street cleaning day, so there might be the chance that for once our streets might actually be clean...

I understand that it takes time to clean the streets and that's why within four blocks of my house, there are four different street cleaning times... I just wonder if you couldn't move more street cleaners to one part of town, perhaps the day after trash day, and then back to another neighborhood after their trash day... thoughts?

Thanks to P&H for the inspiration...

My Grandfather

I am blessed to have a grandfather who is so well taken care of that he recently celebrated his 90th birthday. In February, we took a trip out to celebrate with he and 100 of his closest friends and relatives. He had 8 kids himself and then after the death of his first wife he married a woman with 4 more kids. Today they have somewhere around 60 grand kids and great-grand kids. As you can see by the picture, I am sure it's his family and friends that have kept him young.

From 2009.02-Oregon

One of my favorite things about Grandpa Fullmer is his appetite for learning. I was just talking to him yesterday on my drive home and he was telling me about this book he is reading, "The Worst Hard Time." Ever since I can remember, next to the rocking chair in the living room sat a book. He is always uncovering something interesting and is never without a good story or life lesson, and he has plenty. Living through the depression and working the majority of his career selling lumber in the Pacific Northwest has made him a very interesting man.

I hope that one day I too can be that interesting and spry at 90.

The dangers of cooking

I am not a chef. I am a baker, quite good at it actually. One friend claims that "she keeps baked goods on her person." But I rarely cook a meal. I leave that to my fiance, who is VERY good at it. But, we got this dutch oven the other week and hadn't cooked anything in it yet.

So, I had a huge shopping trip planned and I got a roast. I was super excited to cook it and it had been in the oven for about 45 minutes when I started peeling potatoes... I proceeded to slice a finger open while holding the potato over the sink. About 4 minutes after slicing my middle finger open I sliced my index finger open. Blood gushing, swear words flying out of my mouth, and three paper towels later, I was able to get the vegetables in with the roast. I should note that I can cut a potato with one hand. But to top it off, the roast came out 20 minutes before the time the cook book said it should and it was still over done! This is why I don't cook!

I apologize to any bride

For any selfish comments I made while you were engaged. The one I deeply regret is "so, have you decided when and where yet?" The second would be any comments I made about how you could make your wedding day more convenient for me. God knows it's your day and you hopefully were able to ignore any of my ignorant comments. I know how difficult that is, but I hope if I did it, you were able to curse me and move on.

A bad day has to get better

Yesterday I was talking to cousin Gega about her kindergartners. She was asking why it was that she was being so challenged by this group and what lessons should she be learning. At the end of the conversation she said, "well tomorrow has to be better." Tomorrow has to be better... sometimes all you need is that insight into terrible situations to understand why you are being challenged, or what you should be learning about yourself because of this day, to really put a bad day into perspective. Or in my case: go to lunch, get free parking and have the pizza guy tell you it's $5.15 for a slice and a soda and you pull out a $5 and he tells you he's got the $0.15... Today is much better than yesterday... thanks pizza guy!

Facebook is scary

When Shane finally approved my "relationship status" change all the sudden all of my ads on Facebook went from B2B marketing ads to wedding ads, everything from the cake to the dress to the diet... holy scary!

The happiest day

Saturday morning the love of my life made me the happiest woman on the planet. I am still smiling ear to ear, and I expect it will last a lifetime. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQNA4e8-dwY It was an amazing day and I am so enjoying engagement bliss!

Death on my way to work, a little too often

So as many of you know, I started a new job that requires me to spend at least 30 minutes driving into the office every morning. I have ended my "road rage" period, and am now in the numb, just get me there before 9am routine. But today, I suddenly realized that at least 3 times in the past two weeks I have seen the various trucks carrying what look like casket holders. I am not sure what they are, but they aren't as nice as caskets, but they are shaped like something you might put in the ground to hold a casket? In any case, it's a very unsettling feeling seeing something like this on your way to work... makes starting the day a little slower.

Don't worry be happy

I am really concerned about the state of our nation, and not just the fact that I know way too many people without jobs and lost investment income. I am worried that all of this loss and general crappy self-esteem that comes with not having a job will reek havoc on the happiness of our society. I am invisioning increasing road rage, decreasing neighborly duties, etc. Nevermind the already constant negative reporting on our local and national news. I am looking for people or places that talk about the positives... I'll start: Today I was at the grocery store, and I love it b/c I get one of those self- shopping wands so I basically don't have to talk to anyone. I take my gun/wand and I shoot items as I put them into my re-usable bags. Well, as I was leaving today, my rosemary fell out of my bag and landed in the basket while I was unloading. A woman noticed as I was walking away from the cart and asked if they were mine as I was walking away from the cart at the front of the store. How great is that? Does anyone know of a site, or a blog where people are posting their Human kindness stories. I could use a higher dose these days.

Commuting Again

So, I took this new job, which I love. One of the things I am having to get used to is commuting. People are kinda mean in the AM. And it's totally unnecessary. I have to merge from one freeway to another and the other morning this guy would NOT let me into the lane. I don't have a choice here buddy. My lane ends, or I have to get back onto the freeway I just got off...obviously not the thing I want to do while trying to get to work. But even funnier than that, is that this ridiculous weather we have had in New England has caused some major pot holes. These pot holes could swallow your car, give you whip lash, or cost you thousands in car repairs. And it's so bad that the Boston Globe has a site where the worst pot holes are located in the city: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/013009_pothole/ You have to click on some of the comments on washington street... it really is a terrible street... The other day I was driving past this street and I randomly saw 9 cars pulled over all with flat tires... yeah, awesome. I hope Obama approves some of that bail out $$ for our Mass Highways- just to re-fill those huge holes!

TV and Movie Observations

Did anyone else notice that Jack Bauer upgraded his bag once he was state side in the most recent episode of 24? It's way better than the one he had during the first episode and last seasons show. On another note, there are 4 movies out right now that are all about the Nazi's, WWII or Hitler: Valkyrie, the Reader, the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Defiance. I find it really interesting, not sure why or what our recent fascination is with WWII and all of its horribleness. I guess we can hope that with more movies or perspectives we can learn how to prevent such a horrible occurrence in the future.

My new adventure

On Monday I will start a new job as a Marketing Manager for Makana Solutions. It's an on-demand sales compensation management software that is provided for Small and Medium sized businesses (SMB's) in all industries. I am really excited to work with a team of driven, smart people to help define and implement marketing plans. I feel very lucky to have a job and to have one at a company that makes me excited, selling to a market with such potential. It's a great way to start 2009!

Home Depot in the Morning

So, as many of you know, I am currently working as a consultant, which is great. I have all this time to be able to get things done on my own schedule. I can work late and get errands done in the morning. I have been to Home Depot on a few occasions in the past few weeks, since embarking on the consulting adventure. Home Depot is like a world of its own. There are all these construction people: the foreman, the project managers, the heavy lifters. It's a little micro-economy. I can never walk in there without asking someone where something is, and everyone is so helpful. But there are people that go there everyday, just like I might go to Starbucks. I will never be a part of that world, but it's nice to step out of my typical Starbucks routine and try something completely different.