Done a Dance to That...

We’re Engaged!

Christi — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:24:55 +0000

Last night I came home from work, pulled into the garage and hanging from the ceiling was a huge diamond ring (Ryan installs exterior signs for a living – he probably snagged this from a Helzberg, Bailey Banks in Biddle, or something…). I thought for sure he was pranking me. Nope. I walk in the house and there are dozens of flowers and candles all over the place. He had music playing and a glass of wine ready for me. I was speechless. I could tell he was super nervous and excited! On the kitchen table was a pile of about 50 ring boxes. Each box had a small piece of paper that said something he loved about me and our relationship, and each box made me cry (tears of happiness of course!):

Then, I opened up a box with a real sparkly diamond ring! He took it out of my hands, got down on one knee, I accidentally gave him my right hand, we both laughed. Then, the popped the question! Obviously I said yes.

We went to celebrate at the Farinas Winery in Grapevine! Such a wonderfully romantic evening! Now the planning begins!

Working Remotely

Christi — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:31:26 +0000

With record snowfall in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I’m working from home today. It’s not an incredibly odd event for me to be working from home. My job is almost completely mobile, so I’m not necessarily chained to my cubicle (and if I were…I would be miserable)! Our leaders are pretty flexible about where we do our work (as long as it gets done). But I have a few FAVORITE things about working from home:

Jack Bauer is by my side constantly. The little guy gets so excited when I get my laptop out, he sits by me and watches me type – super cute.
MUSIC! Due to cubicle etiquette and the respect I have for my cubemates I usually listen to music with headphones on. At home, I can crank it super loud. Currently streaming on Pandora: Love Lockdown, Kayne West.
Sunlight, vitamin D, and a window.
There are almost zero distractions at home. I park in the garage, so no one even knows I am home to sell me cookies or bibles.
Movement – I can get outta my seat to stretch, do high kicks, work on my squat form…whatever. I mean, honestly, I can do that at work too…it’s just I don’t get weird looks at home.
I can put in a few extra hours without feeling like I’m working extreme overtime.
I consciously try to be better about calling/emailing people back. Therefore, my work automatically improves.

Where do you do your best work?

When I Need A Break

Christi — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:55:01 +0000

When I need a quick break at work, I check out the latest photos added to the Maine Coon flickr group. Endless entertainment…enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/mainecooncats/

Cats Fly Free?

Christi — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:03:26 +0000

My poor little cat wants to fly with me today. I would take him but unfortunately he does not fit in a standard size pet carrier that fits under the seat in front of me! Love you Jack!

Two Years of McDay

Christi — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:49:04 +0000

Ryan and I celebrated our two year anniversary this weekend. It started when he called me at work on Friday afternoon to let me know he had made RESERVATIONS (!!) at a new restaurant in Fort Worth. He had conspired with our neighbor, who is a wine distributor, to pick the perfect location. He took me to Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana. Totally amazing date! I’ve reviewed the establishment on yelp. Ryan did a great job by taking me to a 5-star restaurant (and I mean 5 yelp stars!).

A little background on Lanny, from their web site:

Lanny, the great-grandson of the legendary restaurateur Joe. T. Garcia, was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas spending most of his time in a restaurant. He has traveled extensively through Mexico cooking and learning what a meal means within the Mexican Culture. Rooted in Mexican Cuisine he began to explore the ideas of Mexican and Haute Cuisine. It was the passion behind these ideas that led him to study at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York where he had a more formal understanding of Classic Fundamentals. He spent three years developing a concept and cuisine within the walls of Joe. T. Garcia’s before opening the restaurant on July 27, 2005.

The Power of Your Voice

Christi — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:32:33 +0000

Disclaimer:

- The statements here are definitely my own (very personal) feelings and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer -

Is professionalism completely lost when you gain a following online? Whether that’s your blog readers, Twitter followers, or Facebook friends? Yes, I am completely aware the person I am (passive aggressively) referring to in this post has built an untouchable level of trust with his posse online.

If you find our systems inefficient, inoperable, or outdated – we are the first to want to hear it. But I feel like (and maybe I just assumed this) that you and I have a professional relationship – we’ve shaken hands, talked online, and run in many of the same circles. You knew that I was on the other end of your criticism that was spewed all over the internet on Friday. In my opinion, there are better, more professional ways of getting your point across.

I’ve followed you, trusted you, and have modeled a lot of what I do after you. The fact that you didn’t feel like you could TRUST me back to share your frustrations in a professional (offline) way, hurts me. It hurt me personally, and left a huge bruise for my Company online. I hope you understand the power of your voice. Use it for good!

Thanks for listening.

Social Media Club Dallas

Christi — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:15:03 +0000

Last night I attended my first Social Media Club Dallas meeting since the relaunch of the club. I must say this was a super organized well thought-out event. My colleague and I geeked it out with the best of the Dallas Twitterati and Foursquare fanatics. The meeting had a great turnout, which isn’t surprising since they kicked off the first meeting of 2010 with the highly esteemed blogger and writer Chris Brogan. Brogan tackled a bunch of my favorite concepts -

We are all in the Customer Service business.
If you aren’t living in Twitter search, you aren’t using the tool to it’s full potential.
Don’t self-promote all the time. If you want readers on your blog don’t write about yourself.

It was great to reconnect with folks that I’ve met at other Dallas events and meet some of my Twitter friends face to face! I also met a few new contacts as well.

Mike Merrill, SMC President, did a great job of kicking off the new year. I have a feeling lots of new locals will be joining Social Media Club Dallas after this event.

The Lose It App

Christi — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:35:44 +0000

Just like everyone I know, I’m on a mission to lose weight in 2010. Hopefully, this year, I can stick with it. When I was in college, I danced all day and night (on TCU’s Dance Team). We were required to make weigh ins and look our best all the time. Once I graduated and moved on to a “desk” job the New Job 15 really hit me. At work there is never a shortage of catered lunches, happy hours, and of course honey roasted peanuts. It’s time to change things around. In the past, I’ve tried Weight Watchers. It worked well and taught me the power of calorie counting and portion control. I paid $16 a month for an online subscription. The hard part was, Weight Watchers did not have a robust mobile site or app. We all know if your goal is to keep track of the food you consume, it’s best to do it right after you eat…which isn’t typically at a computer. I ended my Weight Watcher’s contract a few months ago.

I regularly scroll the “featured” apps in the app store on my iPhone. One that popped up this week was the Lose It app. This app is basically a handy dandy calorie counter. I entered my current weight, then entered my desired weight and it told me how many calories I can consume per day. During the day I enter the items I eat and the app calculates approximately how many calories I’m taking in. I can also get “calories back” by hitting the gym.

So far I’m super impressed. The app was FREE and does everything I was paying the Weight Watchers web site for. The app is also super social. If you are comfortable sharing your progress with your Twitter followers you can link the app with your Twitter account. Not sure if I’m ready for that yet.

For other motivation, I’ve signed up for the Fort Worth Cowtown 5K.

Time to stop writing and hit the gym! Laters!

Jack Bauer Knows His Name

Christi — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:28:15 +0000

TCU Bowl Game 2009

Christi — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:00:01 +0000

Some photos from my Fiesta Bowl game experience!