C4L Thank You

On Sunday, 7 October 2012 I biked 30 miles for the 2nd Annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cycle for Life Ride. It was very rewarding to have raised funds towards curing Cystic Fibrosis and to have taken part in the fun ride. (Click here to view my original post for this ride and the fund-raising.)

First of all, a huge THANK YOU to all who donated to the cause. Together we raised $53,000! Your support is truly appreciated, and goes towards ending Cystic Fibrosis. = ) Thank you.

Looking back, it was really one of the best events I've ever participated in: the weather couldn't have been more perfect, the ride was administered with efficiency and friendliness, I was one of the first females to finish (second, I believe), I got to ride with folks from Orange Cycle (my most favorite bike shop ever) at two different points, and I received a massage and Tijuana Flats taco afterwards! The only downer of the day was that my bike computer's sensor wasn't working. Good thing I captured the ride with Strava!

 

Here I am before the start of the ride. Look at that pretty sun shining through!

                           

My favorite aspects of the ride:

(1) Riding in a pack. This was my first event where it was strictly cycling. It was a lot of fun to ride in a pack and draft and get used to biking in close proximity to other bikers.

(2) Drafting and pulling with a girl from Orange Cycle. Towards the end of the ride I caught up to a friendly girl from Orange Cycle. I could tell that we were on the same level of effort, so I asked if I could hop on her wheel (draft). She was cool with that, so I recovered from the exertion of catching up to her. Shortly after that I offered to pull; by then we were closing in on the finish. We pushed hard and it was a great pull. We finished the race together, and I think we were the first females to finish. Here is a picture of me and Orange Cycle Girl (sorry that she's in my shadow...):

                           

Here is a shot of me enjoying some Gatorade on my second pass by the fuel station (approximately 20 miles into the ride). Volunteers from a nearby church donated baked goods, energy snacks, and drinks and manned this station. They were all cheering us on and very nice. = )

For more fun photos from the ride, click here to view the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cycle for Life's Facebook photo album.

Thankful, Day 30

Well, this entry concludes my November goal of posting something I'm thankful for per day of the month.

On this final day of November I'm thankful for my next rotation at work. I start it tomorrow, the first of December. I'll be working with a Lockheed Martin Fellow and for a new company (IS&GS versus EBS). It will be fresh, new, challenging and a great learning experience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

.
.
.

Okay, now let Christmastime commence! = )

Thankful, Day 28

Today I'm thankful that I had the pleasure of joining my leadership development program managers and a few other program participants at Gators Dockside for lunch today. I had a delicious reuben on swirled rye and some potato salad.

Thankful, Day 1

Wow! It's already NOVEMBER!

Guys, put your razors and shavers away to support MOvember!

I am so excited for holiday season to roll around (only 23 more days until Christmas music)! To get in the spirit I thought I'd do some blogging this month about what I'm thankful for each day I can blog.

So, without further ado, on the first of November I am thankful to be working from home. I'm in Java training all week and can't be connected to the Intranet at work, so I have to work from home, hehe!

3 LM Women Execs in Fortune Top 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen

Three of Lockheed Martin's top executives have been named in FORTUNE magazine's annual list of the top 50 leading businesswomen in America.

Appearing in its Oct. 17 issue, the FORTUNE "Most Powerful Women in Business" rankings include Marillyn Hewson, Executive Vice President of Electronic Systems at No. 27; Joanne Maguire, Executive Vice President of Space Systems at No. 29; and Linda Gooden, Executive Vice President of Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) at No. 33.

Where I'm Going to Work in May

I found some information and several photos of the Lockheed Martin facility in Deer Creek where I'll begin working come late May. I've heard the facility and surrounding areas are just beautiful. Judging by these photos, I'd say they weren't kidding. I'm excited!

That said, here's a scenic shot of the facility. It's nested into the face of a red rock formation. I have a feeling these photos don't really do it justice.

Here is a bit of information I found about the design of the facility:

And here are some photos I snagged from Burkett Design's website (the place looks pretty spiffy!):

That's all for now. Cheers!

Amanda

Palm Trees for Mountains

If you haven't heard the news yet, I'm moving to Denver in T-minus 31 days. I'm trading in the palm trees for the mountains.

I will certainly miss Orlando. Florida has grown on me so much. I have enjoyed the easy access to the beach, rooting myself for a time, starting the book club and making so many friends.

But I've always wanted to live in Colorado, and now is the right time for me to make the move. I love mountains - the hiking, the camping, the skiing. I can hardly wait for the the weather. I'm good on the sweltering, sticky summers and am craving a real winter. Did you know that Denver has more sunny days per year than Orlando? Mhmm!

I have a base of friends in Denver already (some from Purdue, some who've moved from Orlando to Denver and some from work), so that'll be nice. I am excited to move to a more dog-friendly and outdoorsy area!

Yes, I'm still going to be working for Lockheed Martin. I've been getting that one a lot.

I'm super excited that my dad is able to help me with the move. My grandpa might be helping, too! I'm so lucky to have them!

I started packing today. Ya gotta start on that early to keep the stress levels low.

That's all for now. Check back soon!

Cheers,

Amanda

LH: 5 Traits of Low-Stress, Happy Workers

Stumbled on this LifeHacker article about the "5 Traits of Low-Stress, Happy Workers." Take a look:

http://lifehacker.com/5751875/five-traits-low+stress-happy-work-cultures-have-in-common

January in Review

Before February gets going, I'm gonna be all over it and do a photo-review blog for what went down in my corner of the world in January 2011.

Rang in the new year with some friends who've become close over the last few months: Sam, Alex & Julie, as well as a couple of old book club friends, Casey and Ryan. We celebrated at an indie, dinner-movie theatre called The Enzian during their James Bond theme party. Casey, Julie and I got all dressed up in sparkling formal-wear, and the men all looked snazzy in their suits and ties!

Just 2 days into 2011 I had the pleasure of hosting my best friend from Down Under, Tamara! We had a blast together all week, catching up, playing with Heidi and Ashes, dining out, having PB&Js, playing Euchre and discussing our cultural and language differences. That weekend my Mom flew in town to run the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. I was supposed to run it with her, but I had to back out due to knee injury... She ran it, had fun, and Tamara and I supported her. The next day we all enjoyed ourselves at Universal's Islands of Adventure. We were blown away by the feature Wizarding World of Harry Potter ride inside the Hogwarts Castle!

During the Tamara visit I had to deal with Heidi having caught some gastro-intestinal parasites. Got her all treated for that, and she's doing MUCH better now. Still hanging around 55#, but she's already healthier.

Through the month I hosted a couple of euchre nights. I taught my new Euchre playing friends how to play bid-Euchre so we could have 6 or 8 people playing one big game instead of breaking into 2 smaller games. It's a lot of fun. I'm really glad I can get that taste of the Midwest down here through Euchre.

The Spring 2011 semester at PSU started on Monday, 10 January 2011. I'm taking 2 classes this semester: IST 552 Data Management and IST 411 Distributed Object-Oriented Programming. I LOVE 411 and am doing well there so far, but I'm praying to pass 552. The class overestimates the students' background knowledge and is very accellerated in pace...

I had a lovely Skype date with Miss Kristin! When I Skyped with her she announced that her and her husband, Aric, were getting a puppy - a Cocka-Poo! They've sinced picked him up from the breeder and named him Hiro, from the main character in the shoe Heroes. I've seen a photo, and he's just adorable! Can't wait to Skype with her again soon to hear all about their transition into puppy parenthood!

On Tuesday, 11 January 2011 my brother, Chucky, turned 22! I sent him a card, a book he requested ("The Art of War"), and a gift card to Target. I wish I could have celebrated with him in person, but when you're on opposite coasts of the country, it's kinda tricky and we make do. Happy birthday, Chuggy! Here's a favorite photo of the two of us, taken at Lana & Geof's wedding back in September 2009:

Last weekend I got to go skiing with a bunch of great friends from work; they are all in the IS Leadershpi Development Program with me. We had a blast! We stayed in an awesome, 5-bedroom cabin, tucked away in the woods, and we had 2 full days of skiing! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip:

My parents bought me Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover" for Christmas. I have sinced read it all the way through and am working to have my own Total Money Makeover. With all the student debt I have, this just made perfect sense. In fact, tonight I'm finalizing my Allocated Spending Plan for February 2011. It'll be interesting to see where my bad spending habits reside (I'm thinking eating out and groceries are my bane, aside from my car loan payment). Anyway, I like being organized and I like budgeting, so to implement his plan has been fun for me so far.

Last Saturday was my first Hackathon, hosted at Sam's house. He made a super cool white board, DIY-style that I got to use while Joel taught me how to do dynamic programming tables (part of my first IST 552 homework assignment). It was a lot of fun boucing ideas off one another for different programming projects and hanging out with like-minded career/student/developer friends. I'm excited for the next one and hope it goes from monthly to bi-weekly! Here's a photo of Sam displaying my dynamic programming table on his home-made white board:

The last big thing I did in January was epic! My friend Alex and I participated in our first Warrior Dash! On top of that, it was his first 5K! He picked a great one! We ran through mud rivers, crawled through mud pits (I'm talking several feet deep pits full of sloshy/suctiony/smooshy mud), climbed rope nettings, scaled balance beams, leaped over fire and swam through a muddy trough with barbed wire just over our heads! It was so adventurous and challenging and fun! I haven't seen my official chip time yet, but my watch clocked me at approximately 35 minutes. That's 5 minutes less than what my goal was!

My 2011 NY Resolutions

My 2011 New Year's Resolutions:

• spend less time surfing Facebook (doing quite well on this resolution so far)
• pay of a significant chunk of my student loans (getting things in line for this)
• run 525 miles by Saturday, 31 December 2011 (only 457 to go!)
• earn B or better in all my PSU master's courses (2 this semester, 1-2 over the summer, and another 1-2 in the fall)
• read the Bible (or at least several books; will be difficult with all the master's work)
• catch up and keep up with my scrapbook for Heidi (I'm behind by about 12 months, heh)

I have made a reminder in my calendar to check in on my resolutions every two weeks. I'm excited to see how I do.

Last Call to Support AAMW

Fund-raising for the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk is wrapping up soon, and I wanted to put up another blog asking you to consider donating to the cause. If you'd like to support me in my fund-raising efforts, please visit this website: http://mworlando2010.kintera.org/forimogene. 

For motivation, Kay Redington, CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, shared this video:

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/alzheimers-disease-caregivers-families-struggle-cope/story?id=11920353

Cheers!

PS - I'm making head-way on Heidi's costume! Can't wait to share photos! This walk is going to be a great time!

How You Help the Alz Assoc.

I received the following from the Alzheimer's Association for my participation in the Memory Walk fundraising. (So far I've raised $150! Thank you for your support!) I wanted to share with you the note because it outlines how your support helps those affected by Alzheimer's.

You’ve heard it before, and it’s true: The funds raised through Memory Walk^® benefit the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. But what does that mean?

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care and support, with more then 70 chapters nationwide for care consultation, information and referral; education and support programs. The organization has been part of every major advance in Alzheimer research and public policy.

Here are some specific ways your dollars may go to work:

$50 – 24/7 Helpline 

Provides reliable information and support during three crisis calls.

$100 – Safety programs 

Supports two people in MedicAlert® + Alzheimer's Association Safe Return®, a 24-hour response service for wandering 

and medical emergencies.

$300 – Help from a care consultant 

Provides availability of an Alzheimer care consultant who can aid a caregiver in distress during the middle of the night.

Your financial support helps us to provide these services, and allows us to continue research efforts that may lead to a cure.

For more information about the work of the Alzheimer’s Association, visit http://www.alz.org/.

Sincerely,

Alzheimer’s Association

Alz Assoc. Memory Walk

I got an email from work, Lockheed Martin, inviting me to participate in the Alzheimer Association's Memory Walk on Saturday, 30 October 2010. My grandmother, Imogene Baugher, suffers from advanced Alzheimer's, so immediately this was something I wanted to support. My fundraising goal is $100. An added bonus: the walk not only allows dogs but has a Halloween Costume for them! I'm going to take a shot at sewing my first puppy costume for Heidi.

If you would like to support me in my fundraising, please make donations at this website:http://mworlando2010.kintera.org/forimogene

Here is the website for more information about the cause: http://mworlando2010.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=347884&lis=1&kntae347884=9807FEB4FC534D3E9ECD0EF002B0A9FD

Thank you,

Amanda

http://mworlando2010.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=347884&supid=304448552

I Hope I Survive August

I hope I survive August. Many of you who know me know that I keep busy, but that is normal for this girl. No big deal. To give you a feel of how busy August will be: August is so busy it seems overwhelming even to me!

As of today, here is what I have going on this month:

• Reading:
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (11 August 2010)
• The Hunger Games (July 2010)
• Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (dropped)
• Knitting Night with girl-friends (tonight!)
• Turkish Dinner at Bosphorus Lounge with book club friends (this Friday!) (moved to September)
• Sand Volleyball and Cookout at Matt's (this Saturday!)
• 5th Annual Moss Park 5K (this Saturday, but I'm thinking of skipping this since I've not been training... kind of forgot about this race...) (skipped)
• Eat Pray Love movie night with girl-friends (13 August 2010)
• Heather's Birthday Party (21 August 2010)
• Homeless Children's Birthday Party with Jessica and her volunteer group (have to work instead)
• Lockheed Martin ISLDP Leadership Development Conference I (I will be in Lansdowne, VA from 16-20 August)
• The August Book Club (for The Hunger Games)
• Kristin visits for a long weekend! (we're super excited to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a girls' night in and a night downtown!)
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie night (10 August 2010)
• My class(es) for Penn State begin (23 August 2010)
• Church with Kayelee & Chelsea on Sundays (22 August 2010)
• Brunch with Kayelee & Chelsea to discuss our upcoming Bible study group! (22 August 2010)

Shew! It was tiring just blogging all of that!

Can you believe that in addition to all of that I am working on putting together a karaoke night with the book club and also a Euchre/Spaghetti Pitch-in night! Those things may have to wait until September rolls around. Oh! And I want to get over to Melbourne. I am itching to visit friends, Aunt Joan and the beach!

Anyway, I hope your August is off to a great start!

Dog Article Notes

My friend, Matt, has been flying back and forth from Virginia for some work travel lately, and he read an airline magazine article that he shared with me. It's an article from Southwest Airlines Spirit, June 2010. The article contained several tips and resources for providing a happy life to your canine friend. Here are some that I really liked:

• Keep a record of your dogs vaccination/veterinarian history in your car in case of emergency
• Take Your Dog to Work Day is 24 June 2011 (just missed this year, although I really wonder about whether Lockheed Martin would allow me to bring Heidi into the office)
• Doggie Days
• 23 March - National Puppy Day
• 28 March - International Guide Dog Day
• April - Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Month
• 1st Week of May - American Humane Association's Be Kind to Animals Week
• 21 August - International Homeless Animal's Day
• 26 August - National Dog Day
• October - American Humane Association's Adopt-a-Dog Month
• 2 December - National Mutt Day
• Good Dog Books
• "Dogs are from Neptune"
• "Bones Would Rain from the Sky"
• "The Other End of the Leash"
• Therapy Dogs International website: tdi-dog.org
• Run races with your dog: dogrundog.com
• Train your dog to ring a bell by the door when they need to go outside

"No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." -Louis Sabin

Thanks for sharing, Matt!

WL Dog Park

Tonight I had the great pleasure of spending the evening with Heidi at a new dog park: the Waterford Lakes Dog Park. It's a stone's throw away, has friendly folks and dogs, water, a dog-i-pot, benches for the humans and GRASS rather than sand which is outstanding! The weather was super cooperative after a really hot and humid day, so we were there for a couple hours. I always mean to get some reading in while Heidi frolics around, but I really enjoy watching her play, dog watching and chatting with the other dog owners. It all makes me smile.

Heidi with Bailey (Boston Terrier exiting the photo) and Max (whom Heidi romped around with quite a bit)

There was a sweet, old Great Pyrenees and his nice owner was the favorite among all the dogs because he gave them really great back scratches. He gave Anslow (his Great Pyrenees) a back scratch and caused some shedding; as you can see, Heidi caught some of the fluff and just left it there for a good while.

Scratchin'. It's what dogs do.

A new favorite photo of me and my girl!

In other news... Work went along okay. Busy in the morning, training in the afternoon. The training is good, but time passes slowly. I didn't get up early enough to run with Heidi, but it turned out to be a good ting since it was ridiculously humid even at the early hours of the morning. I'm going to run with her tomorrow morning, weather permitting. So I guess the running this week will be Tuesday, Thursday Saturday again. That's fine.

Normally grocery shopping wouldn't be considered news, but I stumbled upon a gem! P.F. Chang's makes microwavable steam meals!!! I had one over the weekend and am awestruck! The General Chang one is good, and tomorrow I'll try the Ginger Chicken & Broccoli! Mmmm!

I announced the book for August tonight: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Anyone read that one? I read up on it, and it sounds really good, so I'm excited!

Weekend News

This weekend was fun with the 80s pub crawl and book club (for "Eat Pray Love," review coming soon) today. I got the apartment mostly cleaned and got to catch up with Kristin after a month of chaotic phone dates due to travel and vacations between our schedules. Also, I did some volunteering Saturday morning at the National Down Syndrome Congress conference that took place over at Disney this weekend. I think it is fantastic how much support and networking the NDSC provides to those raising children with DS!

This week should be a good one. I am in training at work from 1 PM to 5 PM Monday through Thursday. Friday I'm celebrating the course's completion by going to lunch with some colleagues. I'm also going to lunch Wednesday with my mentor.

Outside of work I'm running with Heidi this week on the mornings of Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We've been running 5K three times a week these last few weeks. I am trying to get to the gym at least twice; three times if I'm lucky. I like to keep up with the cross-training (cycling, elliptical and ramp) as it keeps my body constantly challenged.

Through the week I'll be working on scrap-booking more of Heidi's baby photos and having fun with her at the dog parks.

The highlight of the week will be Wednesday evening when I have some girlfriends over to spend the evening knitting! I'll be teaching the newbs, and I think I might bake a pie. I think someone will be bringing some vino, too! Should be a lovely time.

Have a great week!

Heidi lounging around while I cleaned the apartment

Happy 4th of July

Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyone has plans for something fun and patriotic tomorrow!

After church I will be baking chocolate chip cookies to take to Kayelee's cookout. Afterwards I will be taking Heidi downtown to Lake Eola for Orlando's Independence Day festivities. She loves going downtown and mingling with all the other dogs we meet alongside the lake. It's been rainy all week, so cross your fingers that the rain doesn't dampen the fun in store for tomorrow.


Here's a note from the Lockheed Martin head honcho, Mr. Bob Stevens, that I'd like to share with you:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident …”

These stirring words introduced a courageous statement of freedom and equality that still represents the essence of our nation.  “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” have bound Americans together since the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

In a few days, we will once again celebrate this momentous event with family and friends, fireworks and barbecues.  We will observe this occasion as a people whose breadth of diversity could hardly be imagined by those who set into motion events that made it all possible.  We are – quite literally – people from all corners of the globe united in purpose and fundamental ideals.

The patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence knew that their lives were on the line the moment they put pen to paper.  And throughout our history, Americans of all backgrounds and ethnic origins have done the same, knowing that liberty commands eternal vigilance and a willingness to pay the ultimate price.

Today, service men and women continue to answer the call of duty in such far off places as Afghanistan and Iraq.  Like you, I am proud to be part of a company that is privileged to support their mission and our nation in helping preserve “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for generations to come.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a safe and happy Fourth of July, and I encourage you to reflect on how fortunate we are to be part of a nation whose strength lies in our continued declaration of freedom.  Thanks for everything you do, every day, to contribute to this cause.

Penn State Uni

Right on target with my career/academic plan: I'm going back to school in the fall for my masters. I'll be attending Pennsylvania State University online. Attaining a masters is part of the ISLDP program I'm in at Lockheed Martin.

I am getting my degree in Information Sciences and Technology, Software Development. The program is geared towards management, which is just what I want to get into down the road.

I'm kind of excited to go back to school. It will be a challenge with working full-time, keeping up with Heidi and studying, but it'll be worthwhile.

January 2010

Being the list-lover that I am, I've decided to start listing the high-lights of each month. Bonus: this will make it easy for me to recap things at the end of the year. Ta da!

January 2010

Christmas & New Year's Break - long visit home with family and friends; NYE brought in with parents and grandparents over Oliver wine. Took on a second role at work just prior to vacation!

Retro Game Night with BC - first book club social of the year!

Running a lot - training for a marathon (this was a pre-Heidi 2010 resolution that has since been tweaked from "run a full marathon by the end of the year" to "run a full marathon within the next 15 months" - spring is a great time for marathons in Florida)

Bowling with BC - I did terribly but had a ton of fun anyway because of the cool folks in company

Big Daddy's & Pub Crawl with BC - even though we didn't get to do karaoke (fail!), this was still my favorite night out in Florida yet! "I feel wine!"

Ingeborg's Visit -  Norway Night, Hue and BC, Lake Eola, lunches and dinners, Joel's birthday at the Citrus Club, Dear John pre-screening, Girls' Night!

Heidi - she's my girl! Lots to be learned about being a puppy momma, but totally worth it in every way!

-Amanda