Be Prepared: Soon to be asking a favor of you all!

I can't believe that was are almost half-way through the month of May. Its crazy to think that summer is almost here. I am so ready for sunshine, to play a little golf (I can't wait to show you all my new golf shoes!), lay out by the pool, sit on rooftop patios, plan a trip to Vegas with friends, hopefully take a trip home to California, and spend afternoons with my dog in the park. This can all happen once Denver decides winter is over...which I'm really starting to question will ever happen--I mean really...snow in May? Thats for the birds!

Thanks to working on my thesis all summer, I will have to limit my time when it comes to doing my favorite summer activities. So this brings me to discussing my thesis with you all. Come the start of June I will be asking a favor of all of you. As part of my primary research I will be conducting a survey regarding my topic of integrating social media in to the traditional marketing mix. It would be so helpful to me if you could all participate! Also, by responding to the survey you will all be put into a drawing to win a fabulous prize (more details to come)! So please be looking for me to post the link to the survey sometime the first part of June!

Leave Sooner, Drive Slower, Fewer Tickets

I made it!

So I have a less than stellar driving record. Getting pulled over for me used to be a regular occurrence when I drove anywhere. Whether I was going a long or short distance I seemed to be a target for law enforcement, but thanks to my charm and ultimate power of persuasion (yeah right) I somehow was able to finagle my way out of tickets and get off with written warnings. While I was at K-State I even had a bulletin board devote to a collage or written warnings I received while in school...I had to of had a good half dozen or more.

Well unfortunately my luck of written warnings wore out and for the past 18 months I have been in danger of having a 30 day suspension of license. Thanks to California driving law you can only get 3 traffic violations in an 18 month period of time...and I had 2. I had to make it May 2nd without getting a ticket, and guess what I made it! I think I only even got pulled over once in that period of time (and got off of course) which is some sort of record for me. But I do have to say, thank goodness the tickets you get when going through an intersection (the camera ones for speeding/running lights) don't count cause if so it would have been public transportation for me.

But I can now say I have learned my lesson to slow down and pay attention to road signs! I don't need to start another collage anytime soon.

Big Hats, Champagne, and Horse Races

I can't believe that May is finally here...time is just flying by! With the start of May it brought a highly anticipated event for my friends and I--the Kentucky Derby.

Although we did not get to attend the real derby, we got to attend the second largest derby party that is held outside the Kentucky Derby which just so happens to be here in Denver.

The event is put on Colorado State University and all proceeds to go to a scholarship fund to benefit under privileged college students, so not only not just for fun and games but it all goes towards a good cause! It was held at the beautiful Denver Botanic Gardens and had amazing sponsors such as Ceren Vodka, Tommy Bahama Rum, Perrier Jouet champagne, Mumm Napa Valley, Coors/Blue Moon, and various Denver area restaurants who provided food. They also had TVs set up all around the gardens and in the tents so that everyone could watch the race when it was going on.

(Walking the red carpet with ladies: Cortney, Stephanie and Jill)

We started the day by attending a Pre-Party at a mansion in downtown that was completely empty inside so it was full of party goers.

(On the steps inside the mansion)

Once arriving at the event we got to walk a red carpet and were immediately handed a mint julep (the traditional drink of the Derby--which is gross by the way in my opinion) to kick things off right. Everyone who attended were decked out in head-to-toe derby attire, with fun dresses and over the top hats while the men were all well dressed in suits. It was definitely a target rich environment for good looking well dressed men. A few of the party goers chose to forgo the suits and dress as jockeys instead--it was totally fitting!

(Cortney's neighbor Brian and I...he rocked the striped suit and pink tie well)

(Loved this guys suit with the horse embroidered on sleeve. He also had a tie covered in race horses)

As you walked around the gardens there were different themed tents. The girls and I spent most of our time in the Mumm tent which was decorated in all shades of pink and served Brute Rose champagne and oysters. It was amazing! Also to keep the party going while we all waited for the race there were several stages set up with DJ's playing a variety of dance music. This was one event I can't wait to attend next year!

(outside the Mumm tent)

(Oyster bar care of Max's Gill and Grill...YUMMY!)

(hanging in the Mumm tent enjoying champagne and oysters)

(With the girls at the end of the night out on the town)

Dear Thesis: Please don't be the death of me!

First due date of thesis proposal for edits: Week of May 9-15.

Official proposal due date: May 21st.

How is this going you ask? Well aside from the anxiety, night sweats, random panic attacks, and the same recurring nightmare of me failing graduate school, its rolling right along.

My finalized topic (in a nutshell) is: The uniqueness of social networks and how it has changed the approach businesses are taking towards marketing. Finally, what do businesses need to do in order to adapt to this growing trend.

Due to the rise of social networking, organizations are now being forced to develop individual, real-time communications with their customers, whether they want to or not. The deal with social networking is if your not talking about your company, someone else is....so it might as well be you talking! There are some companies that are totally on the social networking bandwagon but other are still dragging their feet, which in my opinion (which probably doesn't mean much) is not the smartest move because you gotta keep up with the times :)

So if anyone has any sort of advice, reading recommendations, websites to check out, suggestions, know people to talk to etc please let me know...I need all the help I can get!

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

Walking into my parents house after not visiting for months always makes me smile. Nothing like walking into a house and having the feeling of comfort, familiarity, and seeing pictures on the walls that bring back amazing memories. Also mom always has a stocked pantry!

(the ranch)

When I finally got back to the ranch it was game time. I headed to Visalia to see Amanda, my preggo PIC, and help with getting things done for her pirate themed baby shower that was taking place over the weekend. Let me just say my PIC has the coolest scrapbooking tool and I want one!

Its called a Cricut (pronounced like cricket) and you get different memory sticks for it and each memory stick has different images on it. You just pick an image, pick a size, and then press th

e button and it cuts out what ever shape you chose. Its amazing!

(See all the anchors and skull and crossbones...all done on the cricut!)

One thing about living in a small town is that no matter where you go, you will run into someone you know whether you like it or not. While shopping at Target for baby shower goods it seems like I ran into everyone...including Granny, who lives about 50 yards from my mom and dads. That is one think I miss about living in a small town is running into people you know when you are out and about. Its nice to see familiar faces and catch up with people you haven't seen in years in some cases.

The baby shower was a smashing success and absolutely adorable! Every even stuck with the pirate theme! Now normally I am not a big fan of baby/bridal shower games, but there was one game that was right up my alley.

I have a guilty pleasure of watching trash TV and reading trashy magazines, and for once my guilty pleasure got me somewhere. For one of the games we were given a list of celebrities and we had to name their babies. There were 19 celebrities on the list and I ended up name 31 names...the next closest person had 23. I ended up with a beautiful basket filled with wine, wine glasses, cheese, crackers, etc. Great job on the prizes ladies!

(Love these girls! Been friends since we were toddlers!)

(With the baby shower hostesses and mom to be)

It has been a while since I had gone hiking in the hills so I somehow convinced my brother to take me turkey hunting one morning. After having moms amazing Sunday morning breakfast paired with dads amazing bloody marys (I finally got one!) my brother and I set out to find a bird.

Now since I am not an owner of any sort of hunting camo I had to borrow some from my brother. Needless to say it was a sight to see. If you have ever met my brother you would know I am considerably bigger than he is and I somehow crammed my expanding behind into a pair of his camo overalls, and by crammed I mean they were skintight and I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to get out of them...I was afraid a pair of scissors may need to be involved in order for me to undress.

(My brother calling birds)

Unfortunately, I didn't bring home a bird but we did get one called in pretty close, but he must have seen something he didn't like because he hightailed it away from us before I got the chance to shoot. Even though we didn't get anything it was great to spend a morning with my brother and catch up! It was also beautiful, lush, and green in the hills and some of the flowers were still in bloom.

It was great to be home for the long weekend and spend time with family and friends and get caught up with everyone and I'm already itching to go back! Its hard to believe that the next time I go back my PIC will by a momma to her baby boy Blake...I can't wait to meet this little man!

I lucked out and my flight back was much less eventful than my flight to LA. The only thing that was marginally exciting about the flight was the Barbie Benton was on my flight. For those of you who don't know who that is, she is a former girlfriend to Hugh Hefner and has been on several episodes of the The Girls Next Door...remember I have a thing for trash TV :)

Leaving on a jet plane

After my fun, girls night at the Taylor Swift concert I had about 2 hours from the time I got back from the concert till I had to get up to head to the airport to fly home for a long weekend filled with family, the highly anticipated baby shower, turkey hunting, and catching up with friends. Silly me thought that by booking an early flight it would minimize the chance for any travel problems and it would give me almost an extra full day at home. Ha! That was not the case...

I got to DIA with plenty of time to spare (around 4 a.m.ish) and had no problems getting checked in and going through security. Reagan, (My almost 2-year-old, crack squirrel, Yorkie, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting her) was my traveling companion and she was being a perfect angel, calmly drugged up on her "happy pills" and not thrashing, barking, or trying to dig her way out of her flying bag--it seemed like it was going to be a pretty uneventful day of travel.

I had a feeling my day was going downhill while I was sitting at the gate and a baby about 6 months old wouldn't stop crying or screaming. I give it to the parents they were trying everything they could to get it to stop...I of course was praying that the little thing wasn't going to be on my flight...of course it was. And then we ended up having a minor delay, no biggie. It was a direct flight I figured the pilots would make up time in the air and I would land at the perfect time of 7:30 a.m. or a little after. Perfect! It would still leave me with almost a full day at home.

We boarded the plane, which was less than half-full so I got an aisle to myself which I planned on fulling utilizing for a much needed nap since I really hadn't slept yet and I figured that no better time than a direct flight leaving before the sun is up to catch a few zzz's.

After boarding the plane we sat there for about 45 minutes, mind you the baby is still screaming bloody murder and by this time I had fondly nicknamed this poor child exorcist baby and was just waiting for his head to start turning around and for it to start puking green stuff...it never did. That may be a little insensitive of me to give this poor,screaming, unhappy child such a harsh nickname but remember I had yet to have been to sleep and I was feeling a little impatient. Also, I was paying $75 to fly with my little drugged up crack squirrel that no one knew was there and exorcist baby was disturbing the whole flight and was flying for free. Parents, supposedly a little bit of Benedryl can go a long way, I'm just saying.

So after sitting there for 45 minutes they announce over the intercom that we were having mechanical problems in the cockpit and we were just waiting for maintenance to come and fix it. This resulted in us sitting for about another 20 minutes while being serenaded by exorcist baby before they said that it wasn't going to be able to be fixed and we had get off the plane and sprint to another gate (which of course was on the complete opposite side of the airport) to a plane that they were holding for us that would now be taking us to Las Vegas. Once we boarded the flight crew announced to all of us that were supposed to be on the flight to LAX that they had no information for us and in a round-about-way they were pretty much telling us good luck. I figured if I got stuck in Vegas I would high tail it to the nearest bar and order a double Bloody Mary ASAP to drink away the screaming I had been dealing with for the past hour and then maybe gamble a bit in the airport. There are worse places to get stuck.

Fortunately, when we landed in Vegas (exorcist baby had done a great job continuing to serenade us the whole flight there) they were holding a plane to LA for us--we just had to sprint (again) across to the opposite side of the terminal to catch the flight that was already delayed waiting for us. By this time I am fully prepared to have no luggage and I was already plotting and planning a shopping trip... after my much needed nap took place. I figured with as many plane changes (with all them pretty much being last minute) there was no way I would have luggage...yes I have no faith in airlines. I had the joy of sitting in the seat in front of exorcist baby on this flight, and the good lord must have been watching over me because miraculously he only cried for half of the 40 minute flight. After listening to the little thing for about 3 hours I didn't know how much longer I could be cordial. Mind you all of this is taking place before the sun is up...we were leaving Vegas just at day break.

And then we land in the beautiful sunny, LA. The weather was a perfect 78 degrees, my luggage made it, and there was a Starbucks outside my gate. It may not have been a Bloody Mary but I settled for it. The airport even had a little doggie play area where I let Reagan out to do her business and stretch her legs. You would think that after that debacle things would start looking up. They didn't.

Since LA is about 2 1/2 hours from my parents and traffic usually blows they make me take the bus to Bakersfield, which I detest. This time I had to wait over 2 hours for the bus which means I could have been about home before the damn thing even got there. This trip on the bus was no different than normal (horrible!), and it just added to the day I had already experienced. Reagan's "happy" pills wore off about a half hour before the bus got there and her true crack squirrel behavior came out and it led to me having to give her more "happy" pills, which I don't really like to give her in the first place. The air system on the bus was broken, the driver couldn't turn on the a/c and the heater wouldn't turn off...so it was sweltering. I had just left 4 inches of snow and 40 degrees so I thought this 80 degree temperature, plus the heater running, plus over half-full bus was going to end me. Also there were some sketchy characters on this bus...I'm talking claiming colors, tatted up, pierced, non-english speaking characters. Also the driver told me the dog had to stay in the carrier...I of course did not follow that rule because not only was I miserable but my travel companion wasn't taking things well either.

All I have to say is I am glad I trained my parents well. Once I finally got to Bakersfield (in quite a peachy mood I must add) dad met me with the saving grace, and it also saved him from having to deal with me having a major princess moment, which I have a tendency to be famous for. It wasn't a Bloody Mary but at that time it was even better...a #2 animal style, with extra crispy fries, diet coke, and cup of water for Reagan from In-N-Out. By having that on hand dad saved lives...mainly his own.

So all before the sun came up I had a flight that was delayed, cancelled and rerouted, I had dealt with an exorcist baby, and there was no bar open serving cocktails...it made for a rough morning.

This is going to be a 2 part blog so the fun stories and pictures are soon to come!

Team Taylor

Wednesday night I had the opprotunity to attend the Taylor Swift concert with a good friend from Denver. Now don't judge me, but yes we were the oldest people sitting in our section that didn't have children but it was so much fun. We enjoyed that we weren't there with wee ones so we enjoyed a couple of Grey Goose cocktails while enjoying the concert :)

(Cortney Logan and I )

Taylor was adorable and put on a great show as did those that opened for her. her opening acts with Gloriana (if you don't know them you should check them out) and Kellie Pickler.

After seeing Kelli Pickler (who was very entertaining by the way) it really made me want to take the plunge and chop my hair off again...we'll see if I actually do it at me upcoming hair appointment in a little over a week.

(Gloriana...notice the "T" Shaped stage for T. Swift)

(Kellie Pickler...she was wearing the most fabulous sparkly shoes)

(Kellie Picklers haircut...to cut or not cut..any feedback is appreciated I still have a week to decide!)

Taylor sang all of her hit songs and had amazing stage changes. I really don't think you could ever be too old to listen and enjoy her music, she has a way with being able to relate with everyone!
Not long after the concert ended I had to high tail it to the airport to fly back to California the weekend so concert pictures will have to come later. Also, I will post the story of my disasterous flight back...let me tell you no will be envious once you hear this story...