Guess who is back.....for two more days, anyways

SO here I am, back in Marietta with SO MUCH going on!!

Last week was a lot of fun as I traveled up through CT, NY and PA. I started in New Britain CT where I watched the New Britain Rock Cats. This was a fun event at a great park and I got to meet Tom Kelly, the former Twins manager who led his team to beat the Braves in a World Series. The next day I drove through the state of New York to get over to the home of my favorite sitcom, Scranton PA. That's right, I spend two lovely days in the great (kind of boring) city of Scranton so I could watch the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees play. While I was there I experienced a lot of things...I saw a (green, not white this time of year) ski resort, went 300 feet below the earth's surface to experience what the coal miners had to go through over 100 years ago, met a former Yankee Alvaro Espinoza, had to go without a shower because the power went out for 15 hours in the hotel and my bathroom was pitch black (!!) and enjoyed a beautiful walk through a historic park which gave me some beautiful views of the city. And let's not forget, I got to see the Welcome to Scranton sign, although it's different now as they updated it...bummer. ....view my pictures below....

After Scranton I headed to Lehigh Valley, where I thought I would find some antique shops, but all I found was nothing. Ha. Kind of boring and I was disappointed so I just drove around for 45 minutes to finally find a place with free internet so I could at least get some work done. That night I watched the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs play in a fabulous stadium, and was then back on the road to get to Philadelphia that night. Traffic was a nightmare!!! So when I finally arrived in Philly (almost an hour later than I should have) I was so thankful for a shower (remember, no power that morning in Scranton) and a comfy bed :)

Saturday morning lended itself to some free time for me which meant I could explore the city a bit...see pictures below...the one thing you will not see a picture of is the Liberty Bell. I was able to see it, but I was merely driving by and looking in the building because it was CRAZINESS to find parking around there! Then I went and ate a Philly Cheese steak at Ricks (highly recommended by several locals) and purchased some yummy cherries from an Amish farmer at the market. After my Philly adventure, I headed back to my hotel, packed up and headed to the airport to wait on my (delayed) flight. I quickly forgot my frustration of having to wait when she scanned my ticket and said "ma'am, you've been upgraded to first class" ...thank you Lord! A couple free drinks and a chat with a professional basketball player later, and I was safely back in HOT-lanta.

Please note as you look at the pictures below...when you travel by yourself your pictures can be kind of lame. Please forgive the silliness, and laugh along with me for having ten pictures of just me.

The famous sign that has been updated....

For real, Mifflin Avenue

Gharry watching the informative Coal Mining movie before we went underground....

If you were trapped you were told to raise your hands so people could find you.... Yep, Gharry & I are now certified miners. Hold your applause, please.

Gharry at the slopes With Espanoza, a former Yankee

Go Iron Pigs :)

The steps that Rocky used...

My tribute to Rocky Balboa......hahaha

Yummy Philly cheese steak!

Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love :)

Guess it's been a while....

I returned from San Diego last week and forgot to update my ever-so-popular blog. Good thing none of my readers complained ;)

The U.S. Open was fantastic and I really enjoyed my time out in San Diego. I mean, who wouldn't like seeing Tiger Woods almost everyday? I am now officially a golf fan, and will be sad to see Tiger miss the rest of the season because of his injured knee. He is a great athlete, and according to everyone at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, and incredibly nice person. The picture you see above was when he made the put in Sunday's final to send it to a playoff. Seeing this with my own eyes was amazing. Certainly my favorite sports moment so far in my life.

The program I was working required long days and short nights - usually 3-4hours of sleep - but loads of fun. As always, we hired local folks to come and help and also as always, they were wonderful! I made some new friends and got to know some of the people I work with a little better. A lot of these people will be with me in Beijing as well, which will be fun.

Anyways, I am getting all of my laundry done today so I can pack and get off again tomorrow morning. This trip is for AIG so I will be attending three Minor League games in Allentown, PA, New Britain CT and the best city yet....Scranton, PA. And yes, for those of you curious, Gharry will be with me :) ...pictures to follow.

Made it safe...

I'm in our offices in Larkspur California today, Thursday and Friday....it's so much cooler here than hot-lanta! It's a nice little break...kind of. As most of you know, I am usually cold, so I love the heat!

My flight this morning was uneventful, which is always good, but my seemingly wonderful seat was anything but. I was literally the first seat on the plane, which meant you think you're getting lots of leg room, but really when that door shuts, you have about 6 feet for your right leg and about 6 inches for your left. Apparently Delta adds padding to their doors. What, to ensure our safety on a plane?! Safety, schmafety. That padding is probably part of the reason people have to pay to check a second bag now, and I was really bothersome. Thanks Delta!

OK, I am done with my little rant :)

Packing my bags...again

I am packing up not one, or two, but THREE suitcases for my next journey. Really I should say journeys. Wednesday morning I will be flying to San Francisco for a company meeting Thursday and fun activity (I think it will be making a custom bottle of wine, but I am not sure yet) Friday. Then, I will begin the oh-so-fun trek back to Atlanta, hoping on a plane at 10:45-ish in the evening and arriving just in time to see the sun rise in Atlanta. Once on the ground I will be kicking it into high gear to go pick up bag #2, take a shower, and head to Rome GA for my dear friend Staci's wedding weekend! All afternoon Saturday will be filled with wedding things like decorations and floral arrangements....her wedding is at noon on Sunday in Berry's Frost Chapel. Funny thing, Staci and Brent will have their reception at the same place Josh & Summer had theirs. That certainly was a fun shin-dig, and I know the one this Sunday will be too! The bad thing about Sunday is that I will be leaving Rome to return home & get ready to head out again Monday morning - thus the third suitcase.

San Diego will be my final destination and I am really excited about this trip! There I will be working on our US Open program with the same client I will be with for 19 days in Beijing. It will be nice to finally meet everyone and get to know them before I am trapped (Ok, maybe not trapped) at the Sheraton Great Wall with them for nearly three weeks. I will be running the Hospitality desk for both of these programs. For those of you curious, this means that I will make sure people have their spa appointments made, their event tickets picked up, they know where the nearest convenience store is, and they eat breakfast. Really, it's an all-inclusive information center for the guests, housed in the hospitality suite which will offer food and beverage nearly all day, with the exception of times we'll be gone for events. During the Beijing Games it will be open from 6am-1am...and in San Diego it will be close to that as well. Thank goodness I will not be alone!!

So, as all three of my readers can see, I am a very busy girl. I think I need to start taking some good vitamins to help keep my immune system strong with all of my sleepless nights and long flights...any suggestions? And what I am really concerned about - I hope my dog remembers who I am when I am home :)

Have a great week......