Happy Weekend Friends

Hope you enjoy these last few days of July

   

  

Denver

Forgot how much I love this city!

Such a productive and interesting week at the AdAge
 small agency conference. Already psyched for next year :)

     

That Blurry Line

between a need to have 

and a want to have ;)

           

Happiness

   

I wish every night could be movie night

          

Success

By midnight I'd crossed off every single "to do" 

and smiled from ear to ear...

This little list maker is SUPER excited 

(and officially ready) 

for the Oz Park movie night tonight!

    

Make a Wish

Cheers to 30+ more years of friendship 

with a truly wonderful person :)

Love you, Codes!

Happy Birthday Cootie Anne Bumper Gundrum!

A Year Ago Today...

Such a wonderful trip to visit Nicki!

  

Music To My Earlobes

If you have a chance to check out 

Caleb Hawley & Matt Santos, 

they will not disappoint! 

They're also pretty easy on the eyes if you ask me ;)

    

Lost Crates

   
When I found out about the latest Sandbox portfolio company called Lost Crates, I was psyched!
  
A monthly subscription to receive a customized crate 
filled with journals, pens and premium paper products?!
Ummm. Yes. Please. Where do I sign?
  
My fantastic colleague, Danny, heads up this awesome operation as "Chief Crate Officer" and I not-so-secretly
LOVE his job title :)

So let's get straight to my crate, shall we?!?
  

Since I wouldn't be home to sign for the package I asked for it to be shipped to Sandbox. Funny part is, as they're still getting up and running all the crates are made here, so the guys devised a lil' scavenger hunt which went as such:
  

I got back to my desk, only to find... 

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE SMILE ON MY FACE!

You have to understand, this is my idea of heaven :)

So I bolted downstairs

 to the bulletin board

 and found my next clue!

Off to the hallway baño aaaand...

 BAM

Hahahaha, a short and sweet hunt...

To find this awesomeness :)

I thanked the boys who are already hard at work to create
next months brilliance

 and immediately opened my crate!
  
Grace, one of the fabulous Summer interns made mine which also came with a personalized thank you note from Danny. Such a cool touch... I hope all the other subscribers think the same.

Inside I'd gotten (based off of the personality quiz each member takes ahead of time) the following items: 

click to enlarge

  

A ~$43.00 value for just $38.00 a month...

Who could ask for anything more???

  

Cannot wait for my next surprise in August!

THANK YOU, LOST CRATES

   

Observation

This afternoon at work I didn't have time to run out for a late lunch so I opted to heat up a Lean Cuisine in the kitchen. 

The instructions told me 2-3 minutes so I stood there, aimlessly, staring at the microwave. 

As it was 2:45pm, no one else was in the eating area and with only ~125 seconds left to yumminess, I realized it wasn't enough time to multi-task much. So I just used it as a mental break to zone out. And wait. Aimlessly. For my food. 

 

But you're never really alone here at Sandbox... I looked down only to see the longing eyes of my ever adorable and highly loved "co-worker", Tuesday :)

With 55 seconds left on the clock, 

I had a funny "light bulb" moment while 

she was staring up at me staring up at the microwave.

You know, that totally aimless and seemingly helpless feeling of waiting for food to be ready, preeeetty much sums up a dog's life. And for the first time ever, I felt sorry for my little buddy :S 

So I spent the last 50 seconds providing belly rubs and empathizing with my furry friend - and when the microwave beeped, I immediately jumped to my feet in delight... 

You'd have thought that I was Pavlov's goddamn dog! 

    

Eye Candy

  

  

Fingers Crossed

A super special thanks to my buddy, Dustin Johnston 

for shooting this with me!

   

Makin' Some O.J

  

Ever So Thankful

Cody, Lizzard & Brendan came over this wknd
to raise a glass to a wonderful woman who had 
such a positive impact on each of our lives. 

A special memory for certain :)

    

Stella Ziecina Strocchia: 1918-2011

My Grandma. 

My role model. 

My friend. 

1981
  

One of "those" weeks...

My Grams recently fell sick and it's the first time I've ever directly witnessed the painful process of losing a loved one :(
Our family will all be by her side again this afternoon to continue to love and support her in these final moments -- moments we each feel so blessed to have the luxury to spend together. 

I know she would not want me to be sad or cry on her behalf, so I've been doing everything possible to stay strong in her presence. After which, I immediately bolt to Dairy Queen to sob my face off while eating a Blizzard...

I'm going on day six and the poor peeps at the DQ surely think I'm postal, but they've been very kind to serve me without question. Thank God for ice cream!

Last night we were too late to indulge in this cold comfort so I dipped into my stash of astronaut ice cream from a recent visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. 

Not gonna lie, I'm sure this dry-freezed awesomeness tastes like a dream while floating a gazillion miles up in space, but after an emotional evening with two feet on the ground, 
I sure felt like this: 

Sarcasm aside, if you could please keep my Grandma Stella in your thoughts this week as she moves on to a better place, 
I'd be forever grateful :)

     

The most beautiful comment I've ever received

Thank you, Kate! 
This was such a thoughtful thing to do 
and truly just made my day :) 

   

HAAAPPY SPACE SHUTTLE FRIDAY

We're gonna tune in from the office for 

the launch at 10:26am (weather permitting)

So exciting!

    

Book Club(s) Reading List

Work Book Club

Mother/Daughter Book Club

Current Events Book Club

Is it sad to admit that if I wasn't held accountable to "clubs" 
I know I'd likely never finish three books in a ~month?
I LOVE SUMMER :)
  

Namaste, Oz Park style