006|365 Burgess Merlot

I headed out to Palm Spring to deliver the keynote speech at the Essilor National Sales Meeting with Lynn. It was a whirlwind 48 hours - I left my house on Tuesday at 3:00am and walked back in the door at 3:00am on Thursday. Fun.

Seriously though, it was a great trip. We arrived without incident and went right into dress rehearsal. Of course there were tweaks to the deck and the production company just loved that! Not. After rehearsals Lynn and I went to dinner - enter Burgess.

I was stumped as to what my picture for the day was going to be. I had taken some safeties from the flight - you can see them here, or here, or here. But then we went to dinner and when I saw Burgess on the wine list it was a done deal. I had taken a trip to to Napa with a friend last spring and visited several wineries. When we were almost done we decided to visit one more winery that neither of us had ever heard of. We closed our eyes, pointed at the map, and ended up with Burgess. It was the best visit of the day - so much fun that I wrote about it on my work blog.

So, cheers to Burgess.

005|365 Going on a Jet Plane

The original title for today's post was supposed to be "Bonus Day" with an image of the sun setting over the Catskill Mountains. Nice idea, and I took a great shot yesterday that would have been perfect, but unfortunately I was on the phone when I should have been on the porch and I missed the shot for tonight. Why a bonus day? Well, I was supposed to leave at 5:30 this morning for a meeting in Tampa today. However, Mother Nature surprised Greenville with an ice storm and there was no leaving the house. So, instead of getting into a cold car and heading to the airport I got back into a warm bed and made my meeting a conference call.

The plan for tomorrow is similar to what I intended for today, although tomorrow I get to leave the house at 4:00am. Woo-hoo! I'm heading off to Palm Springs to give a keynote speech with a friend and colleague, Lynn O'Connor Vos of Grey Healthcare, at a national sales meeting on Wednesday. So, while I'd rather stay home, I can't complain too much about getting to go give a presentation and play some golf.

I have to say though that this picture is making me wonder. Do I really need to pack three pairs of shoes for a three day trip, especially when the better part of two days will be spent flying? Plus, I'll be wearing a pair, right? Well, I'll confess. I love shoes. And bags. And glasses. (Yes, I'm bringing three pairs of glasses too.) So, I'll wear black boots on the plane and to rehearsal, black heels for the speech, ivory heels to the dinner reception and sneakers to the gym. My golf shoes are in my golf bag - oh my, making that a fifth pair. Ok, I confess. I have a problem. Now that we got that settled, I'll see you tomorrow!

004|365 Cupcakes in the Afternoon

I originally planned to have the subject of today's photo and post be about "packing" as it is what I do on most Sunday nights in preparation for the work week ahead. But, this is my vacation darnit and I'm not going to rush the season. So, I'll post about my work travels tomorrow and focus on a more pleasant topic today, cupcakes.

I love cupcakes. I've had an infatuation with the little cakes long before Sex and the City made them popular. They are dainty, and elegant, and offer so many possibilities. Whereas cake inspires guilt, cupcakes deliver indulgance - cake can be a lot of work, but cupcakes are a lot of fun. Even a bout with a rough client who earned the nickname "cupcake" (with irony of course) couldn't destroy my love affair with these sweet little treats. More on the rough client another day.

Today we made cupcakes to celebrate the end of such a great vacation. And not just any cupcakes, but lemon-infused strawberry shortcakes. They are a light lemon cake with lemon-infused whipped cream, pink sugar and a fanned strawberry garnish on top. And, on the inside there is a little surprise - a strawberry put inside after baking. Yummy.

Besides picking cupcakes to celebrate, I made them for Maddie. We were in Barnes & Noble on Friday before meeting Jen and I bought a red velvet cupcake. It was so cute and had so much potential! But, alas, when I took my first bite I realized that it was stale and threw the rest out. That's when Maddie said, "Mom, you know why your cupcakes are so much better than the stores? Yours are made with love. Theirs are just made with batter." How can you not adore that kid?

You can expect to see many more cupcake posts through this project. :)

And now, feeling like I took advantage of the last day of this well-deserved break, I'm finally ready to face going back to work and will start preparing.

003|365 Bubble Bath

Today was a quiet day - so quiet that I didn't leave the house. I'm battling a cold and have a big week coming up so I spent most of the day trying to beat down the cold. I think it helped.

I did manage to find time for a little pampering and took a bubble bath before dinner. Gotta love the bubble bath. Also have to remember not to turn the jets on in the tub when you are using soap bubbles. Just ask Pam about that.

I was also productive today, in keeping with my resolution to make the most of each day. I went up to the studio to sew but wasn't really into it, so instead I laid on the couch, watched Project Runway reruns and stitched the binding for these two quilts for my brother's kids. Just in the knick of time too as I leave for Tampa > Palm Springs > Philly on Monday morning and am seeing them on Saturday.

002|365 Jengi Rocks

One of the things I did when starting this project, and the year in general, was make a list of everything I *think* is meaningful to me that I'd anticipate photographing. Then I put it away. It will be interesting to check back next January and see what I learn.

I also made a list of the friendships that are most important for me to nourish. There are many to maintain, but I gave a lot of thought to the ones that are most meaningful and therefore the ones that I am willing to put the most effort into. I'd hope that the friends on the list naturally make it into my project. (If you have to ask if you are on the list then you probably aren't...)

So, today's picture has double meaning. The photo is of my friend Jen. She started out as an "online friend" in early 2001 as a bunch of us met online and used to swap fabric. Then she became a "quilting friend" as the group got together at a central location and did a round of fabric shopping, and then would gather for sewing days. There were about six of us in the original group back in 2001, but Jen and another friend Pam are the ones that I have kept in touch with and become true friends with over the years. I joked on NY Eve that they used to be my quilting friends but have graduated to just "regular old friends." Even our gifts to each other for Christmas reflect the shift - whereas they used to be quilty gifts, this year I got an awesome vest and scarf from Jen and she got martini glasses from me. Jen rocks and inspires me every day as she is a trusted friend that balances work and family and is just an all around great person.

The other note of significance to this photo is the location. We were out getting manicures at Jean Paul Salon after having wine and appetizers at a new restaraunt in Albany, Creo. Personally, I find the name to be misleading as they serve "American food with an Asian and Mediteranean flair" whereas I expected it to be creole and/or New Orleans influenced. Regardless, the wine hit the spot, the food was good, and the price was right. More importantly, I intend to find more time to relax and have fun this year and a manicure on January 2nd is a great way to start! Thanks for the good time Jengi!

001|365 Wishes for the New Year

I take a lot of pictures and decided to join a 365 project. Essentially the idea is to take a picture every day and post it to the group pool on Flickr. I plan to do mine as a blog as well and hope to use the images to tell a visual story about the year. I'll probably add other random posts here as well. We'll see how that goes.

I'm happy to see 2008 go. Despite my many blessings (family and friends, health, career), it was not a great year, most notably because a very close friend committed suicide. I'm happy to start this morning with a fresh slate and a positive outlook. But, the first image of my 365 project is representative to me of the new beginning we all experience every morning. New Year's is fine and all, but I don't want to wait another 364 days to feel I get another chance. So, I really hope to use this year to dream big, wish good things, make positive changes, and do my best every day. And, when I screw up, which I will, it will be fine because I know I'll get another crack at it tomorrow.

Cheers, and Happy New Year!