A Recap of Travels.

I've been busily working these past few weeks to prep for our Colts and Vikings events and then traveling to each and putting on the event with our excellent teams from work. It's been a busy busy BUSY couple of weeks from which I'm still trying to catch up and recover but I wanted to bring a taste of them back to you here. So here's a few photos from my Indianapolis Colts event trip:

Dad, Makaylie, and I at the event. That sweet girl (and photo cred. belong to my sweet friend Kristen).


This is me with Kristen's other little girl - Audrina. Isn't she precious? (Photo cred belongs to Erik Deckers)

I got back at midnight on Sunday night from this event and was back in the office early Monday to prep to leave again Friday to head to Minneapolis, MN - for the first time. So I got to check off another state in my pursuit of 50 states which is a bucket list item for me and it was my first time working a Minnesota Vikings event for work (All Pro Dad).

So a few photos I brought back from my first Vikings FKE & trip to Minnesota:

Vikings office - via Instagram.

Me with Victor the Viking.



Practice facility where the event took place.


And me, on a boat!

It's good to be home and I'm ready to have my feet on the ground for over a week! But this will be short lived. My best friend, Candy, and her husband will be headed down here Saturday for a long weekend and some Monday Night Football and then I will jet off to Baltimore for my next work event the following Friday.

September is crazy!

Love,
B

Checking in from Indiana.

Well for those of you who know me well, you've probably been a little worried about me and my long trip to Indiana. Indiana has certainly never been a place I've loved and calling it home would be a huge stretch. But I'm happy to report, all is well in the midwest. It's cold and gray here as I'm sure you'd expect but I'm hanging tough in my sweatpants and Ugg boots.

While Indiana doesn't rank in the top 25 states I'd ever live in (again) - being with my family makes it work coming back here. When I left 2.5 years ago I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to happily set foot here again but being with the people you love really does make a world of difference.

Lucky for me, my sister Rae and my bro-in-law Bres got stuck here an extra day so that gave us an extra day to be together. What made that extra special was it was the day of Dad's game in Oakland so we got to cheer him on, from 'home' together. I loved that. Even though I may have put back on the 60 lbs I lost eating football food in front of the TV.

I'm realizing more and more lately how blessed I am to have all four of my grandparents still. What a wealth of knowledge (and funny stories about my parents) they are. I sat with my gpa (Dad's side) the other morning drinking coffee and asking him questions about my aunt who I hardly know (I haven't seen her since I was 5) and my Dad as a kid (he was a real trip it sounds like). It's fun hearing about my family before I was part of it. Family is a huge part of my life as you all know if you've been here for any extent of time.

I find that I'm getting a little overly sentimental in my ripe old age of 25. My Dad came home the other day and announced he had something for me. You'll never (and I mean never) guess what it was...

Vitamin! I know. Giggle all you want. Dad brought me a thing of 1000 vitamins because I take the same kind he does and he knows it saves me money when he stocks me up. So for the next 3 years, I'm good to go. Really about 5 because I already had a pretty deep stash. But he was so excited to give them to me - knowing it would save me a few bucks. And I was touched. He has such a busy, crazy, demanding job that when he takes a time out and thinks of the smallest gesture that would make MY life easier, it really touches me. He is a special man and an incredible Dad.

So, stop your worrying, I'm surviving Indiana with some fun, grace, and 1000 vitamins. I will welcome the Florida sunshine and NOT sharing a bed when I return however.

Love,
B

Recap - Indianapolis Thanksgiving.

Well as I alluded to when I surfaced for a quick blog from Indianapolis, my time at home was perfect. It was a blend of all of my favorite things – my family, food, shopping, football. I was in heaven.

Dad treated me to new running shoes AND a heart rate monitor! If you don’t follow me on twitter then you’ll want to scope this pic to scope my duds. I'm finding the heart rate monitor to be a great motivator and a useful tool to gauge just how hard I'm working. I would highly recommend it. I bought a polar FT4.

The game, though not a success, was great fun. Got to see several good friends before the game and at halftime. Oh, and got to have my picture taken with my good friend slash Peyton Manning look-a-like Sean:

How funny is that? I did get to see him after he lost the costume and the alter-ego and went back to being Sean...

Wanted to share a few other pictures from this week as well. Here are the cousins before we left to go downtown to see the big tree be lit:

And while we were downtown for the tree lighting - freezing...

Sitting around watching football with the cousins (Wesley and Whitley):

Overall, a GREAT trip. But as always, good to be back in Tampa and back to the condo.

Love,

B

Three Days til Indy.

Hello Lovelies.

First off, thank you for your feedback on my last blog. After hesitating to post pictures (eck) of my before and after I was pleasantly surprised to get not only comments but e-mails, facebook messages, and texts about the post. Turns out more of you than I thought can relate to where I've been, where I'm at, or where I'm headed. So thank you for your encouraging words, your kind thoughts, and your questions - which I thoroughly enjoyed answering!

For those of you who asked that I keep you up to date on how I do - I will do so! I'm two days into my newest contest and plan and feeling strong.

I leave Friday for Indianapolis for a whirlwind 3 day weekend of work, family, friends, and football - pretty much in that order. We are having our Fall Colts FKE in Indianapolis this weekend. It will be sold out soon but if you're interested you can register on our website - www.allprodad.com and I will see you there!

I'm excited to have some of my closest friends return as volunteers - Candy, Josh, and Sean. Also excited to have my new friends, Ellen and Chris coming to bring their son, Cason for the first time! The Colts event has a special place in my heart A. because of my love for the Colts but B. because my own sweet Dad will be there as a spokesmen. My Dad and I have attended quite a few of these events over the years together. Starting with the very first one, here in Tampa when he and Coach Tony spoke. Later as a volunteer in high school and college. And now as a staff member.

Watching Dad engage with the crowd never gets old for me and my pride in him has only grown throughout the years. I am so proud of him. I guess once you hit your mid-twenties that glow parents have about their kids comes full circle and we kids starting having it about our parents. Coach Jim and Dad will rock the house again this year, I'm confident and I look forward to another year I get to be there to cheer him on.

Friday night I'll get some family time and hopefully a chance to meet up with a new-ish friend, Jon I met through an APD event as well! : ] Saturday will be the event and several of my friends will be in attendance, volunteering, etc. so while it will be work it will be the best kind of work day. Afterwards a group of us are going to grab dinner at a place I haven't tried in Indy yet - Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza. If you've been - give me some feedback!

Sunday is all about my Colts. I'll get to go to church with the fam, an at-home-favorite of mine (attending church without them just isn't quite the same). Then we'll head downtown to show em some love as the Colts take on the Cincinnati Bengals and one of my favorite people I love to hate - Chad Ochocinco. I don't know why but he really grates on my nerves in interviews. I have preciously confessed I did watch his entire dating show, The Ultimate Catch, though. Sad.

Looking forward to a great trip to my former home and some quality time with the people I love most. Of course, a chance to break out my fall/winter clothes is pretty exciting as well. I'll try to remember to take pics for once. How many pairs of boots can I fit in a carry on? Hmm...

Love,
B

Colts Trip.

*Pics of Dad being interviewed at our event - borrowed from @edeckers twitter.

This weekend was our Colts FKE (Father/Kid's Experience) in Indianapolis, Indiana. For obvious reason this is my favorite event (done twice yearly) because I get to see my family while I'm there and the Colts are my team. But bias aside it was a great event! We packed the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center with Dads (some Mom's) and kids including a few families I know and love from my old job at Raisor Ford and my bffs who came to volunteer for the evening. It's always neat to get to work with my Dad and Coach Jim and this year the team was even able to steal Dad away from the office for lunch with our All Pro Dad team. That's really what All Pro Dad is all about...my Dad has a busy, intense job but he takes time out to spend time with me and build relationships with my coworkers when I'm there. It's so special to me.

It was our first night event in Indy (6-9) and though it made for a pretty intensely long work day, I loved the evening time slot. After we finished up about 10pm with all our packing I headed to one of my favorite Indy hangouts, the Fox with good friends Candy, Josh, Ashley, Jon, Ashley, and Gabe to catch up while I was in town. Man did it feel good to sit on my rump after 12 hours of running around like a chicken with my head cut off! The night was a great reminder of how fortunate I am to have such great friends here in Tampa and back there in Indiana. Between the Colts and my friends, looks like Indiana will have a piece of my heart long after Dad retires.

Saturday I got to spend the entire day with my family. Mom and I hit the gym in the morning. Then we met up with Ruthie for lunch and a shopping trip to the great Marshall's in Carmel. Ruth had to babysit that night but Dad treated Mom and I to a nice dinner out and then the 3 of us watching 'the Edge of Darkness' with Mel Gibson - whew, was that intense.

Wrapped up the trip/weekend with church as a family and then it was back on a plane home with me.

Thanks for a great weekend Indy - 3 weeks til I head to Pittsburgh!

Love,

B

A note from home.

Well I arrived back in my parents neck of the woods yesterday evening. My flight and airport experience was surprisingly painless for this time of year. I had to laugh as I stood beside two guys about my age on the curb, freezing, waiting for our rides here in Indiana....one turned to the other and said, 'did you just arrive from Florida?'. The answer was yes. He turned to me and asked the same (as if the fact that I was turning blue wasn't proof enough). We finally compared stories that we all came North for at least a week last year, and we all shortened our trips this year because the bitter cold is just too much for us Floridians.

It is in fact freezing here. And I'm pretty sure I have not and will not be warm on my trip here. At all. But it's nice to be in my old childhood room, and spending time with my family. The weather is a great reminder of why I chose to more to Florida and plant my roots there. But being with my family is an even better reminder, of why I appreciate airplanes and that I can hop one to see them every few months.

Had a great time catching up with friends last night. Sean and I got to go to 'our spot' (The Fox and Hound - lovingly referred to as The Fox) and chat for 3 hours about life, work, our families, and a little bit of everything else. It's hard to believe we've been friends for 4 years now...Junior year of college does NOT feel that long ago. But I'm thankful for his friendship, he has truly been great to have in my life.

I also revisited the good ole high school days by seeing a few friends I've stayed in touch with since then last night. Talk about a long time ago. This May I will have been out of high school for 6 years. Good grief I have grown old. When did this happen? But it's great to see how they're doing now and where life has taken them. Most of my high school friends stayed local in the Indy/Carmel area and it seems that for the most part they're glad the chose too.

I got a quick few minutes with some of my boys from my Purdue days as well. Always great to see them. Great boys. Interested to see where the next few years takes them. I know they're destined for big things.

Last night, and all my trips here are a great reminder of how far I've come in the past year and a half. May will mark 2 year in back in Tampa and I'm thankful for every minute of my time there. I have never experienced happiness and contentment the way I have since moving my life there. The city itself, is of course not entirely to thank for that. But I have certainly had the best year and a half of my life to date there.

While I never expected to feel or say so, I am thankful for the time I lived in Indiana with my family. I think my character was built in those years. If I hadn't experienced them I know I would not have become who I am today. So for that, I am eternally grateful.

I hope you all are enjoying your times with your own families. My only wish is that my older sister Rae and her husband Chris could have been here this year. I'm glad they're with his family, but I miss them.

Merry Christmas Eve.

Love,

B

Highlights.

This weekend was incredible. Exhausting (I'm feeling it now), but incredible. After being absent from my blog for a week or so, I wanted to take the time to share a few highlights from this wonderful weekend with you.

I flew to Indiapolis, Indiana Friday morning. My first of 5 trips between now at the end of 2009. As some of you know this is home to my wonderful parents and my team, the Indianapolis Colts. I flew in with our All Pro Dad team, arriving just after lunch time Friday. We drove straight to the Colts practice facility to begin preparations for the following day's festivities.

I haven't been in my current position long but it probably goes without saying the Colts event has a special place in my heart. This years spokesmen including Coach Jim Caldwell, Coach Clyde Christensen (Daddy dearest), Pierre Garcon, and Eric Foster. Our event registration was 1800 Dad's and Kids to join us for this years 'Colts Father & Kid's Experience'.

Anyway, lets get to the point. 2009 Colts FKE Weekend Highlights:

- My family getting to spend time over dinner with my Family First coworkers. Aaamazing. We did dinner at Bravo Friday night and my parents had a blast getting to know the team. Now they are in total agreement that I have wonderful coworkers here.

- 3 of my best friends (Candy, Meredith, & Kate) drove hours each to be a part of my event Saturday, as volunteers. I truly have the best friends a girl could ask for.

- My buddies from my days working at Ford (in college) came out to the event with their families. It was great to see Tabler, Bill, and of course sweet Kristen!

- Another amazing dinner out @ my favorite Indy restraunt (Stone Creek Grill) with my best friends and my parents. What a fun night!

- Candy, Mer, Mom, and I had a blast at the Colts v. Houston game Sunday - cheering Dad and the boys to a victory. This win makes our team 8-0. What a great season this has been!

And I will close this with a funny. My Dad and I managed to introduce ourselves to 2 complete strangers who were innocently walking into Bravo Friday night, thinking they were with our group. Oops! I got totally snubbed. Sorry Bravo, I think we overwelmed your guests.

Love,

B

Photo Journal of Indy Trip

I thought it would be a fun change of pace to document my Indy trip via cell phone pics and then make a sort of photoblog of it. Oh the places you will go...

First pic: The Indy Airport. I arrived in Indy after midnight, exhausted after an 8 hour work day, 2 plane flights, and some total creepsters sitting next to me. Thanks AirTran.


This is the cafeteria area, where the players eat and sometimes listen to someone talk. For the purposes of the event, this is where our VIPs got to chat with the coaches and player, get their pics taken, and have their gear autographed. It was a big hit.



Next pic is home to the VIP check in area, which turned out to be my place of choice for the event. Marlene and I tackled checking in of the VIPs which ran smoothly for the most part. I really want a silver metal horseshoe like that one for my room. Wonder where I can get one...legally. : ]

The event! The tiny man in yellow in this photo is Dad giving his breif words of wisdom to the crowd out on the practice field! Always fun to work events with my Daddy. Also fun to hear Coach Caldwell and quarterback Jim Sorgi speak on fatherhood. Great crew this year & great crowd!

This pic is during a later office tour we took Ruthie (right) and Lindsay (left) on. Linds was visiting us from Tennessee! Love her. Don't you wish your office had a game room?!

Where the grunt work takes place. Pictured is Dad and half of Ruthie in the weight room trying out a few machines. It's safe to report, I don't have what it takes to be a Colt, at least not ON the field.
Well, that was short but sweet. Hope you enjoyed. Sadly, did not manage to picture my lovely dinner with Candy & Josh OR my 2 hours stint on the golfcart delivering families to their cars after the event. Another great week with the All Pro Dad team as well as with the fam!

Love,
B