Christmas Shopping

As some of you know I am not a big shopper, it's one of my least favorite things to do. Today I had to take the plunge and get all my Christmas shopping done. So my first stop was the dreaded mall. As I entered the large concrete walls I immediately began feeling claustrophobic, hundreds of people, screaming children waiting to see santa, shopping bags hitting me from all angles, Christmas music seeping out of every store...... I had to take some deep breaths, collect myself and set some serious shopping goals! I quickly made a mental list and tackled the mall in a fairly efficient and relatively stress free manner. After stop number one I had to refuel with a large coffee and a little energy boosting snack, shopping really takes it out of me. Then it was off the the next place, I can't disclose I don't want to give away any of my gifts. I like everything to be a surprise..... it's way more fun when you open your gifts if you have no idea. The key to this is never asking what people want but listening to them as the holidays approach and giving them a quick scan to maybe what they need. For example.... complaining about cold feet.... ski socks, trouble finding shoes to match an outfit.... shoes or gift certificate to shoe store.... holes in the pit of their t-shirt.... new shirts...., turning underwear inside out for another day of use.... tighty whiteys, you get the point. You have a few more days to listen to those verbal and non-verbal clues. Happy shopping, thank god I am done!

Welcome to the Real World

Lauren is officially entering the real world, yes that means I got a job. The job title: Online Sales Planner, the company: National CineMedia. I am excited to start receiving those pay checks and end the long hours of job searching and boredom. Let the early waking up, commute and packing of my lunch begin! My office is located right behind Loehmann's at Park Meadows, could be potentially dangerous although now that I have a job I will need to purchase a few new outfits, business attire! I have never been very comfortable in these so called "dress up clothes," which may pose a challenge for shopping. I am hoping they have casual Fridays!! It is an interesting time to start a job as we are on the brink of the Holidays. I had many parties and ski dates planned but it looks like they will be put on hold for the time being until I find out the days we get off. I don't want to ask for vacation time the second week, haha I am not sure that would be a good start. So to all of those who were with me through this journey, thanks for your support. It was an emotional roller coaster that led me to explore places and pieces of myself I had never known. I am an expert interviewee, an expert thank-you note writer, an expert in persistence and an expert in rejection. Let me know if I can help you fine tune any of those skills. Happy Real World to all and to all a good night.

Coffee and Negative Temperatures

This morning was negative 9 degrees and even colder up on the mountain. I was supposed to help out at the world cup races in Beaver Creek but similarly cold temperatures yesterday left me with frost bite on my right foot, ouch. Today I sit in a coffee shop staring outside. It's a bluebird day yet very deceiving..... COLD! Days like this make me question moving to a warmer climate. But where would I move I ask myself? Colorado is an amazing place, over 300 days of sunshine, great snow, not too hot of summers.... Maybe California but it is over populated, traffic chaos, and lots of fake people, sorry if your from California. I might just have to layer up and smile in the face of the cold, hot chocolate and hand warmers to the rescue.
On another note, Happy Friday to all of those employed, and to the unemployed, it's always Friday for us, haha. Have a great weekend, get out and do something different, stray from your norm!