One Girl One Journey

Vows

2010-01-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

We recently choose our minister from a long list give to me by our Wedding Coordinator. I love this ceremony as it truly reflects the values Tony and I created two years ago as a couple. I am also very excited to hear the Conch Shell blow and the Hawaiian Prayer. 83 days left.

Less Religious Ceremony With Hawaiian Prayer

Blowing of Conch Shell

because of the love you have for each other, you are here to commit your lives to each other as husband and wife.

What is marriage?

Marriage is a most sacred institution. It really was begun by God in the very beginning of time. What really is marriage. Marriage is more than a wedding. The act of wedding is a symbol, an announcement of that which is within; a union which an officiant makes legal, which the law can neither create nor quench. At its heart, a marriage is the promises made and kept by two individuals. The promises that you, are about to exchange serve as a verbal representation of the love and commitment you pledge to each other.

What is love?

We all know that love is the foundation of any marriage. But what is love? It is more than a feeling. It is more than romance. Someone has suggested that love is values. Whatever we value, we cherish. Whatever we value is important to us. Whatever we value, we commit our lives to. and ,I believe that you are choosing to commit your lives to each other as husband and wife because you have placed special value in each other. Feelings come and go but values last for a lifetime and even beyond.

True love is always shared. Someone has said that love really isn’t love until it is shared. Love can be expressed and described in many ways. I believe that one of the best descriptions of love is found in the Bible. I Corinthians 13 is called The Love Chapter. Allow me to read a portion of this song of love:

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.

This kind of love will call for everything within you to live up to its standards. Therefore, love calls for your total commitment to each other. Work hard to keep your marriage growing. Realize that by nature, we are all self-seeking. Herein lies the greatest challenge of marriage. Love looks beyond our own selves and our own needs. Love seeks to fulfill the needs of others. This is why the scriptures say that “love is not self-seeking”. I pray that you will both commit yourselves to share this unselfish love with one another.

The BEST Marriage

There are many elements which contribute to a growing marriage relationship. Allow me to share four things which I believe are imperative for such a relationship. You may remember these four elements by the word BEST. Put together the first letter of each word and it spells the word BEST.

Bless - Speak well of each other in public and in private. Express your appreciation for each other for the small as well as for the big things you do for each other. Let the words “thank you” be a regular part of your communication.

Edify - The word edify means to build up. One of the ways to build each other up is to compliment one another. This will encourage and strengthen you and bring harmony and peace in your relationship.

Share - Share your thoughts, your feelings, your dreams, your fears, your successes and your failures with each other. Share laughter together. Share sorrows and tears with each other.
Another word for sharing is communication. Communication involves not only speaking but listening. Learn to be good listeners.

Touch - Marriage is a hands on relationship. The power of a touch can melt a hardened heart.. Holding hands, a hug, an arm around the shoulder, a kiss, a gentle caress all speak volumes of love.

This is how you can have the BEST marriage. B-bless, E-edify, S-share and T-touch. These are the kinds of things which we all can work on for the rest of our lives to nurture relationships especially with those who are closest to us.

Sharing of Wedding Vows

Since marriage is the blending of two lives from various backgrounds and since a growing relationship requires so much giving from both parties, a foundational element of a strong relationship is in one word, commitment. A major part of love is commitment.

, are you willing to commit your life to ?

, are you willing to commit your life to l?

, , in our time together up to this day, you have loved, honored and protected me, and I have you. From this day forward, I promise to continue loving, honoring and protecting you, until we are parted by death. Because of my love for you, I am committing my life to you to be your loving husband. Whether we face good times or hard times, whether we live in sickness or in health, in joy or in sorrow, I promise to be always faithful to you. I promise to be your best friend. I will seek to comfort you, protect you and cherish you all the days of my life.

, , in our time together up to this day, you have loved, honored and protected me, and I have you. From this day forward, I promise to continue loving, honoring and protecting you, until we are parted by death. Because of my love for you, I am committing my life to you to be your loving wife. Whether we live in good times or in bad times, whether we live in sickness or in health, in joy or in sorrow, I promise to be always faithful to you. I promise to be your best friend. I will seek to comfort you, protect you and cherish you all the days of my life.

Pastoral Prayer

Hawaiian Prayer

Ekolu mean nui maka ho’o nua
O kamanao io kamanao lana
A me kealoha, kealoha kai o ia e
Po maikai na mea a pau

Lord, there are three things great in this world
One is faith, the other is hope,
The third one is love, it’s the greatest of them all
All these things are blessed by You.
Will You bless with faith, hope and
Especially love, the greatest of them all.

Exchanging of Rings

I believe that you have rings to exchange with one another.

, this ring is an endless circle. It symbolizes the endlessness of your love for . In the weeks, months and years ahead when you see this ring on her finger, may it be a reminder of the promisees you have made to her on this your wedding day.

, just as this ring wraps endlessly around your finger, so shall my love always wrap around the very breadth of your soul. May it be a reminder of the sacred vow I haven spoke this day to you.

, this ring is an endless circle. It symbolizes the endlessness of your love for In the weeks, months and years ahead when you see this ring on her finger, may it be a reminder of the promises you have made to her on this your wedding day.

Great Weekend!

2010-01-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

We got a lot of wedding stuff done this weekend. Tony finally picked out a suite and he looks hot in it. He's not sold on the whole outfit and thinks the pants are too tight. They aren't too tight, they just fit. He loves all his clothes to be a size bigger so when he actually wears something the right size, he thinks it's too big. Poor guy.

I also ordered the Pashmina's for all the women attending the wedding. I ordered two shades of pink and some white ones. My vision is that as the guest arrive, the women will be given their choice of Pashmina color and the men will be given their leis. I hope it all works as I envision. I haven't heard from my wedding coordinator in a couple months even though I have emailed and called her a few times. I realize she has other weddings and is on Hawaiian time, so I'm trying not to worry.

I also ordered these fabulous Star Fish place card holders from Etsy seller Gallery360. She has some beautiful things and these place card holders are exactly what I was hoping to find.

The very wonderful thing about having such a small wedding, is I can afford to have those little details. It's the details and personal touches I think make a party.

Guest!

2010-01-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

I'm very happy to report that we do indeed have guest coming to our wedding! We have 10 guest who have booked their flights and hotel and we still have a hand full I am expecting to join us. My guess is in the end, we will have about 14-15 guest. I think that's the perfect amount.

I am also working on a welcome activity vs. welcome reception. There is so much to see and do in Kauai I feel like the guest would have much more fun on a tour vs. a long lunch or dinner. My sites are currently set on the river cruise. Everyone can participate and it's an activity that will cause everyone to mix and mingle. I just need to find lunch to go/box lunch supplier that we can use to bring onto the cruise.

This week I will contact the hotel and the wedding coordinator to see what they suggest. I'm also going to start working on my OOT bags for the guest and what we want in them.

It's getting closer so I'm Super excited to get the ball moving on the little details.

Tony has been dragging his feet on getting his suit search back on. He wasn't too thrilled with the first round so it was put on the back burner. Well tomorrow, we are going back out again and hopefully it will go better than the last time.

I've booked all my pre-wedding beauty appointments including my botox. Eek, I'm scared but I have got to get rid of this line between my eyebrows. I also spoke to the salon at the Marriott where my hair and make-up appointment is. I will be going in on April 16th for a consult. Glad that's taken care of.

I figure the more things I can get done now, the better. I know it's not going to be pretty the weeks before and I would like to still get some work done so I don't look like a flaky bride who can't function in the work place.

Dreamy

2009-10-23T10:26:00.001-07:00

How beautifl is this clutch? Love it. It's from Etsy seller :http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5134169 sassidesign's shop. I think it's perfect for my dress and I haven't found anything I like as much. I think this will be my next purchase after my dress comes in next week.

My Ceremony Sandals Arrived

2009-10-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited, my sandals I ordered for the beach ceremony arrived today. They are really beautiful and just what I wanted. I also got a call from the Bridal Salon that my dress was shipped today and will be there no later than Tuesday. I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.

Invitations

2009-10-20T18:19:00.001-07:00

These are the invitations I love. These are the invitations I'm about to spend a lot of money on so everyone can fill out the little enclosed card saying "no, we will not be flying out to Kauai for your wedding, your just not important."

"Save the Dates"

2009-10-19T19:10:00.001-07:00

Regardless of the ever shrinking guest list, I am still planning my wedding as if people will actually be attending. So, a few months ago I sent out these "Save the Dates" along with save the date magnets. People called me right away to tell me how much they loved them.

So about this wedding...

2009-10-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

The original plan was that Tony and I would go to Kauai alone and get married and have our honeymoon. This idea did go over too well with family and everyone asked us to please invite family and friends. We went back and forth on this for a few weeks, until we settled on the idea that yes, we would invite everyone and whoever can make it, will be there.

To be honest, I still feel like I'm not doing the right thing. Most of Tony's family say they can't afford to go, and none of my siblings are going either. In fact some days I'm down right depressed and the number of people who aren't going. I keep trying to remind myself that we originally were not planning on inviting anyone so even if just a few people go, that's more than enough.

It's just really hard to plan the little details I would love to have, when everyday who is going changes. I try to stay positive, but it's hard.

Location, Location, Location....

2009-10-18T19:46:00.001-07:00

We have are using Diana Gardner of Aloha Weddings http://alohanaweddings.com/index.htm who is handling basically everything. She has been amazing. We have already boked the minister, musican, photograher and bakery. With her recommendation, we are getting married at Shipwreck Beach in Poipu and the Dinner at the Plantation Gardens nearby.

http://www.pgrestaurant.com/html/weddings.htm

Getting Married!!

2009-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, once again it's been a long time since I've posted. Things have been crazy, but crazy in a good way. On August 1st 2009, after nearly 6 1/2 years together, Tony asked me to marry him. Officially. We had planned on getting Married in April 2010 so I knew it was just a matter of time before he asked me with an engagement ring.

My birthday is August 3rd an Tony surprised me with the most amazing suite at the Plazzo in Las Vegas. I knew the weekend was going to be amazing and I knew there was a good possibility that my birthday present would be an engagement ring. Surprisingly, I was as calm and cool as the summer breeze. I can't say the same for Tony though. He seemed very nervous and anxious the first two days and I knew something was up.

The morning of August 1st, Tony asked me when I wanted to ride the Gondola at the Venetian. We decided to have dinner that night and go on the Gondola. Long story short, we had dinner and went for our Gondola ride. Mid way through the ride, I looked in the water and noticed all the pennies people had tossed in. So I asked Tony if he had a Penny, I could toss to make a wish.

He reached in his pocket and handed me what I thought would be a penny, but instead it was my diamond engagement ring.

I cried the rest of the ride and so did he. We went out for drinks and desert to celebrate and I think I have been smiling since.

Now we are planning our Kauai Wedding and it's been an emotional roller coaster as we go through the process of what has now become a desitination wedding.

Easter Party

2009-04-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

What a great day! Tony and I hosted our families for a belated Easter party. The weather was perfect and our yard was looking good. Everyone had a great time and Tony and really enjoyed showing off the gardens and the improvements we've made to the house. We also had a water balloon fight but unfortunately I was having way too much fun, to stop and take photos.

I purchased a ham from Honey Cuts Farms in Murrieta and it was the best ham I have eve had. They definitely have all my future business. We also had potato salad, fruit salad, chips and dip and cup cakes. Oh, and Tony made Margaritas and lemon aid for the kids. More importantly, we had great company. Everyone enjoyed the sun and fun and I can't wait to have everyone over to the house again.

My brother in law and his "mini me" Noah. No, the diet coke is not for the baby.

Tony's wonderful niece and nephew inspecting the contents of the eggs they found on the egg hunt.

The fruit salad turned out really yummy. I took a 1/2 cup of sugar and blended in some chocolate mint leaves I grew in the back yard and mixed it in with the fruit. So good.

I made jumbo cup cakes and created pastel frosting by adding colored icing to white frosting. I thought I had food coloring and had to use the icing at the last minute. I am super happy that it worked.

These lanterns I found at Pier One look great on the upper level patio cover.

Tony and I found these fabulous chairs at CVS on Friday and they were the perfect pop of color

I found these buckets at Target and painted the kids name on them and stuffed them with goodies.

I never thought I would love gardening so much

2009-04-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Tony's "burt" tree in the ground

Side Garden next to drive way

Back yard roses in bloom

When I was little my mom would drag us to the nursery almost every weekend. I can remember the smells, the warmth and the hours she would spend just walking around calling out plant names. She would pick up the plants in their plastic cans and hold them up to the light. It seemed as if she took the time to get to know the plant before taking it home; wondering if it was the right fit for a certain location.

We would drag our feet behind her wondering how much longer the process would go on. Our impatient attitudes never seem to phase her, she was in a bubble and no one could pop it. My mom obviously loved it so much it became her career, and now as adult with my own yard I truly understand why.

There is a feeling that comes over me when I garden, a sense of peace and happiness that I have never felt before. The idea that you sit in the sun surrounded by beauty waiting for you to remove their plastic cans and place them in a permanent location. Trimming back a rose bush in hopes of creating the perfect rose, come next season or watching a bare tree fill with leaves, is absolutely fantastic.

When we first moved into the house, Tony and I actually fought over who would get to do yard work. Looking back at those first few weeks it's quite funny. It's great that Tony loves it too and we each have our own thing we like to focus on. With Tony, it's trees. Palm tress, maples and the plum tree. He also seems to really enjoy excavation. In the beginning I would wake up and wonder where a certain bush suddenly went or why a certain location seemed suddenly bare. He had a vision and I now see it coming to light. However, I have to say, I am a little palm treed out. We have a running joke that the side garden next to the drive way is obviously mine because it has no palm trees in it.

Cleaning up

2009-04-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the house is finally being put back together. We have painted the base boards in the living room and office and move the furniture back in. I will post pics of the rooms soon. Meanwhile, I am getting ready for Easter. I have been making these cute eggs to hang from the plum tree along with pretty lanterns. The koi pond is loving the sun and the fish have come out of winter hibernation.

It's 85 degrees here already, it's going to be a hot summer.

Yippee for a newly painted house!

2009-03-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Back of the House Before and After

2009-03-28T18:20:00.001-07:00

Before

After

French Doors Before and After

2009-03-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

Before
After

Before and After outside paint

2009-03-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Front of the house before

Front of the house after

I can see!

2009-03-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

The plastic and tape have been removed from the windows and the painters are almost done. Once they leave, I will begin to take pictures. I can tell you now that it looks AMAZING! The dark brown against the brick is so pretty and really gives that natural effect we were going for. The Brown is exactly the shade we wanted and if anyone has experience with painting, you understand my excitement. Pictures to come very soon.

This isn't fun anymore

2009-03-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

I think I hit the renovation wall. The painters arrived at 7 am this morning and I was happy to see them. However, by 6 pm when they were still here, I just about lost it.

The windows and doors are taped up and you can't go in and out of the house. So when I arrived home at 3:30 pm after a long day; once I got in, there was no going back out. We can't open the windows and I am starting to feel like a caged rat.

I just happened to go and check on the Koi pond, when I uncovered one of the painters sweeping dirt into the pond. Then I see that my pond pump is off. Nothing nearby was unplugged so I started to freak. Of course the painters had no idea why my pump was off. Fortunately one of them finally admitted that they unplugged something on the upper level patio. Sure enough, that was the problem. I have no idea how long it had been turned off, but I was not too happy and they knew it.

It probably wouldn't have been such a big deal if I hadn't been living in a renovation zone for the past week. The living room still has no furniture back in it and until the job is complete, the master bedroom is our domain. I just keep telling myself it will all be over soon.

Vegas Baby!

2009-03-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

So as you may already know, we decided to put tile in another hallway. I'm not sure why we didn't think of it before we started, but oh well. Unfortunately, the vendor we used did not have any more pieces or our tile in their California store. They did however have our 28 extra pieces in their Vegas store.

Not wanting to drive to Vegas I spent all day Wednesday driving from tile store to tile store, looking for a match. After hitting up 30 stores, I admitted defeat. I had no idea how many different variations of the same tile type there are out there. There is different finishes, colors, patterns, colors all which can be a close match but not close enough when the tiles are up against each other.

So on Thursday morning we drove to Vegas to have some fun and pick up our tile. We stayed at my most favorite Vegas hotel, the Paris and had a great dinner and some drinks. Before we went to bed, we picked some Keno numbers and waited until the morning to find out if we won.

Holy Crap! I won $400.00 bucks. Well that was fun.

We picked up the tile at 10 am in Henderson and got home about 3 pm. When we came home we were happy to see a good deal of the work was complete.

Moving right along

2009-03-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

The tile in the kitchen, entry and living room is complete. We are also the proud owners of new base boards.
The grout is done and the tile is polished.

Now we just need to paint the base boards to match our new shutters.

Renovations Day Two

2009-03-24T16:35:00.001-07:00

The Bathroom Wall tile was laid today with the trim and bullnose.
Bathroom wall tile. We went with a slightly darker color.

No longer are we the owners of tile smaller than my feet. Now we have big beautiful tile.

Living room is cat approved.

Renovations Day 1

2009-03-23T19:05:00.001-07:00

I can't tell you how impressed I was this morning when the tile man showed up on time at 8 am on the dot this morning. When I came home at 4 pm this afternoon, to my amazement, 80 percent of the tile was laid. It's beautiful, and it makes the living room and entry look much bigger. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Renovations

2009-03-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

This week we are starting some renovations on the house. The tile guy comes out tomorrow and we will be replacing the nasty old ceramic tile with big beautiful travertine tile with a chizzled edge.

We have also decide to take out the carpet in the living room and take the tile all the way through. It may take some time getting used to not have carpet in the living room, but I think it will be much better.

Now more worrying if the dogs will track in mud from the back yard onto the carpet.

We will also be taking out this ever so lovely builders quality vanity from the guest bath and replacing it with a new modern one.

2009-03-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

This tile is as small as my feet and the grout I'm sure was white once when they first installed it 20 years ago.

Now it's grey.

2009-03-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Better view of ugly tile in kitchen

Hi

2009-03-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I am the worst blogger ever and never update. But then again, no one actually reads this blog so I guess it's not that big a deal.

I am back on the work out train and loving it. In the mornings the dogs and I walk two miles and in the afternoon, I hit the gym. I ran 5 miles on tuesday and today I attend spinning at my new gym. I have been working out consistantly for the past month and I feel so much better. I am trying to get my time down on the 5k to under 29 minutes. It's hard as I really am a slow runner. So I have been doing some treadmill work at least thee times a week.

The house is going to be painted on Sat. I am so excited to see the results. We have been talking about this for almost a year. I say almost because we moved in on April 15th 2008. I can't believe our first year as home owners is almost up. I have to be honest, it was one hell of a year. It had more ups and downs than a roller coaster. However, its been a fun ride and I would have changed a thing.

So it's exterior paint on Sat. and all new tile in the entry, kitchen, living and guest bath on Monday. I will post before and after photos for your enjoyment.

Ugh, Hills

2009-01-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

Did I mention my new community is all hills? The first mile of my daily run is straight uphill. I'm thinking it will be another two weeks before I don't have to walk any of it. Today I only walked two times so I can see the progress. The only good part is running back down the hill.

I did 3.2 miles on Friday and have been doing 1.8 miles on the week days. I'm pretty pleased considering I didn't run for almost a year. I can't imagine where I would be if I hadn't been walking so much. Thank go for two hyper pups. Speaking of Pups, I have to say that Norco and Ally also love this new routine. Norco likes to pick up the pace going down hill and his ear flap in the wind and his smile gets wider. Then he comes home and crashes for about an hour.

Norco is definitely going through the naughty adolescent phase. On Sunday, I reached my wits end and took him to a trainer for an evaluation. I had no idea there was this fantastic obedience school just down the road. Very cool. The trainer loved Norco and said he has an amazing disposition and would be a great therapy dog. He just needs training. So the training has started.

Here's a photo of Norkie a few months ago.

Hi, it's me

2008-12-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

So it's been about a year since my last post. That's no good. We bought a home about an hour away and all my energy has been focused on the house and work. The drive to work has been really hard, but I'm hoping to transfer out to the Inland Empire in a few months. So needless to say, no training for me. I have really missed it. Fortunately walking the dogs 3-6 miles a day, keeps me in some sort of shape.

Still, I miss the feeling of a good run or long bike ride, so it's time to re-prioritize. I am going to sign up for a half marathon in May. There's one on May 3rd in Irvine. So, that's it. I'm signing up and there will be no turning back. This morning I took the dogs out and ran about 1.8 miles. The only issue is, my new neighborhood is all hills, straight up and straight down. It's hard on the knees and shins. So on weekends, I will have to drive to another location for my long runs.

I'm excited and I already feel better.

Oh, here are some photos of the house. We love it!

Back in the game

2008-01-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

Finally feeling well and I went for a run this morning. Unfortunately I struggled just to run two miles and had to walk some of it. My cough is still trouble in mornings and It was a film fest during my run. At least I got back out there. Tommorow I going to take my bike to work and go for a beach bike ride after work. I hear there is a great bike path thats in San Clemente and goes all the way to San Diego. Tomorrow I'll just go about 45 minutes. Friday I will get a 3 mile run in (hopefully) and Saturday another bike ride. Sunday will be a long run but I can't say how long as it's been a coule weeks off. I probably won't work on the swim until mid Feb early march. I need to focus on my run and bike times first.

Frustrated

2008-01-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

It looks like I'm sick again. I took two weeks off when I got the flu, I was just getting back into my work outs and it looks like I'm sick again. Sore throat seems to be going around work and now I have it. My week is blown again. Yesterday was my day off and today I had planned to run 4 miles alternating my speeds. I missed my morning run. Looks like I'll be off till Sunday. So Sunday I will go for an hour bike ride. Hopefully next week I can have a full schedule.

Nothing new to report

2008-01-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

Nothing too exciting has been happening at work. It's time for the year end evaluations and working with both hotels has left me very busy. So since I have little to blog about regarding work, I want to make a little transaction and start blogging about my Triathlon Training. If anyone reads this has any tips, guidance or questions, please feel free to comment.

In November I completed my first sprint Tri. While I was happy to finish, I was disappointed in my time. The swim was much more difficult than I expected and it effect me. I'm also pretty new at biking, so I would like to see my bike speed improve. I'm a good swimmer and find the swim training a relaxing portion of training. However, there is a big difference between swimming in a pool and swimming in a very cold lake. The cold water took my breath away and caused me to feel like my heart was racing. (I guess this is common) So I ended up backstroking it the entire 3/4 of a mile. Not the way I wanted to start my first race.

So I have a new race picked out. April 22, 2008. International Sprint in Palm Springs. 3/4 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run. My goal is keep the time under 3 hours. I'm slow...

So I really need a place to track my work outs and post weekly goals.

Changes

2007-11-17T07:36:00.000-08:00

Just a few months ago I started this adventure as a GM. In the beginning I couldn't admit that I was a GM instead of a Sales Manager. I thought of it as just a trail, but I fell in love with managing the team and have found it to be very natural. It's odd to me, but I must be doing something right. The hotel has exceeded the companies expectations and the teams seem to have made a major turn in the right direction.

When I first started with this company it was at a smaller hotel in the same town up the road. That hotel is beautiful and has always had a special place in my heart. We still own it and it's always done well, that's the reason they purchased the hotel I run. Unfortunately, the hotel's occupancy has slipped a little and they have been having some minor issues. So Monday I received a phone call from the corporate office. They need me to manage that hotel also and help bring it back up to where it was. So now I will be managing two hotels in one town. I'm excited but nervous. I just got my hotel running smoothly and now I have another to turn around. So another 6 months of long hours and hard work, but it really is a great opportunity. It's the best possible thing for my career and I hope I can make a positive difference.

I'm in Shock

2007-11-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, let me just point out that the hotel front desk team calls me for just about everything. They call me if they have trouble making and reservation, can't find their pay check or can't remember what day the work. The Night Auditor has always been the worst offender. He called me one night at 1 am, because he didn't see his pay check in the drawer.

So today is Tuesday, I took Monday off to do a little training for the Triathlon. I had noticed that the phone has been very quiet and the hotel has not called me all weekend. I just assumed everything was running smoothly. Not so much.....

I get to the hotel about 7:30, I greet my team and open the door to my office. On the floor is a note from the night auditor. I won't go into detail but the note stated that on Friday night (4 days ago) I guest died in their room.

Yes, DIED. A young man and his friends partied a little too hard and one friend finally called 911 after he vomited blood everywhere and died. The Paramedics came and pronounced him dead and left his body in the room. The Coroner came back at 6 am and picked him up. So the entire weekend the Housekeeping and maintenance cleaned the room for hours and I was home, just living my life.

When I spoke to the auditor today, he was convinced that he had left a message for someone "but maybe it wasn't me."

So you can call me if you can't find your paycheck but you can't remember to call when someone dies.......Interesting.

Not Hotel Related

2007-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago my sister completed her first Triathlon. It was fun to watch her cross the finish line and I have always dreamed of doing one.
So, I have been training for the last two weeks. The swim is a half mile, bike is 14 miles and the run is 3.5 miles. The swim and the run should be no problem, but I am a little worried about the bike. In fact, until Sunday I didn't even own a bike. Tony has been really supportive and wants me to reach this goal, so he took me to the bike store to pick out my bike.

I had no idea just how expensive good road bikes were. Tony insisted that I get whatever bike I needed so I came home with a beautiful Specialized Ruby Comp. I think the bike might weigh less than two pounds. It's carbon fiber with special gel inserts to take the edge of the pavement.

So last night I took it out on the bike path for the first time. It will be a couple weeks before I figure out the gears, but it was fun. My butt hurts a little today, but not as bad as it would have without the special padded butt shorts.

I'm excited to go through this process and I really hope I can be ready by Thanksgiving weekend for the triathlon.

Smokers

2007-09-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Can someone please tell me why people smoke in non-smoking rooms?

All our rooms have a balcony, if you need to smoke just walk out and close the sliding door. Not that hard. I spent $750.00 on a machine today that cleans out the smoke odor in rooms. I would have love to have spent that money on getting our treadmill fixed or adding a business center. However, I have recently had two groups that seem to really want to smoke in our none smoking rooms.

I really just don't understand people sometimes.

A Hampton Inn

2007-09-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

So it looks like we will be officially becoming a Hampton Inn. I am so excited for construction to start in January. The company has been spending the past few months deciding if we will be a Double Tree, Hilton Garden Inn or a Hampton Inn. I love Hampton's so I am very excited. While it would look great having a Double Tree on my resume, there is something really special about a Hampton. I love selling a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast, Internet and parking.

I'm not sure what we will do with the restaurant that is currently empty. I think I will find someone to lease it out. But I will know more in Jan.

The best part about renovating will be getting new beds. I got my 3rd complaint this week that the mattress springs were poking a guest back. Can you imagine, checking into a hotel and having the mattress springs poke your back? It's so embarrassing. However, we can't just get new mattresses. Hampton has specific mattresses we have to buy, so we need to wait until renovation. The Hampton beds are amazing. Since we already own a Hampton down the road, I bought the Hampton bed during that renovation. Love it.

No, you can't just not show up for your shift

2007-09-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The hardest thing about being a manager is well, managing. Saturday night I was at my friends wedding, when my phone began to ring and ring and ring. It was a team member calling to tell me that they just didn't want to come to work tomorrow. Unfortunately each person works their shift alone, so if they don't go to work, I go to work for them. After I was very clear that he needed to show up unless he found someone to work his shift, he agreed to be present at 7 am.

Fast forward to today. I held a front desk meeting and explained the policy once again regarding attendance. I was pleased with the meeting and felt that everyone was on the same page.

Not so much, 20 minutes later I had someone come and let me know they couldn't work their Sunday shift. So now I am going to have to scramble to find a replacement or I will be stuck working another 7 day work week. ugh.

Ahh Airfreshners!

2007-09-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

The hotel hasn't been renovated in YEARS. So ever since I took over, I have been dealing with this odor. It's odor like if someone locked up an old room for years. It's musty and quite unpleasant. So for the last few months I have tried product after product to get the smell out. We also steam cleaned the carpets, washed walls, you name it, we have tried it. So finally I found an freshner thats a little film, you slip into the vent of the wall unit air conditioners. These babies are amazing and for the first time I'm getting compliments on how nice and clean my rooms smell.

Until today........

As I'm checking people out of the hotel this morning, a very fit couple dressed in tight bicycle pants comes to check out. As they check out I ask my signature "how was everything?" The woman begins to tell me that she had to have the maintenance man come to their room and "pull that nasty air freshner out. It's not that it didn't smell nice, those things things have chemcials and most likely cause cancer." "One day we will all have cancer and realize it's from hotel air freshners."
My jaw must have fallen open as a stared at her because she quickly told me her stay was fine and hurried out the door.

So now instead of making my customers happy, I guess I'm just trying to kill them off one by one. Everyday I realize, you truely cannot make everyone happy and it's best not to take things personally.

Hmm a blog

2007-09-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my attempt at a somewhat entertaning blog. I'm new at this but perhaps it could be interesting. Why a blog? I feel like I have some interesting stories about my new gig as a General Manager of a hotel. Everyday seems to be a Journey as I go through the process of fixing up a run down hotel, managing a team from many different backgrounds, and trying to please every guest. Most of my stories revolve around the guest and their likeable qualities and not so likeable qualities.