Snowball fight! February 12, 2010

That’s what is feels like is going to happen!  It’s a constant fight or struggle when there is snow in Atlanta, no one knows what to do or how to handle it.  For an extreme example… It is currently 37 degrees and there is a threat of snow tomorrow, so DELTA has already cancelled 800 flights for tomorrow.  YES, just at the thought of a few flurries and the airport shuts down.  This makes me understand why people in the north think we are crazy.

Of course now my tennis match is cancelled for tomorrow night, which for a Friday night is OK with me.  But now, it’s the make up time, the rescheduling, booking a court around weather and the fact that I already have another match Sunday and Monday that make tennis season in the winter so difficult!  As I say every year… “why do I play winter tennis?  this is my last season!”  Then when the times comes, I sign up again.  It’s an addiction, I should seek help!

To Kate or not to Kate… February 3, 2010

That is the question…  So for the past 32 years I have gone by the name Katie and for about the past 28 years I haven’t loved the name, I feel like it’s rather juvenile.  My legal name is Katherine and only my Grandfather calls me Katherine, which I love that he calls me that!  So the debate is should I change to Kate (which I do love) or keep it Katie, which everyone knows.  Professionally I am Katie Daniel, CMP… personally I am Katie D, Kates, Katie Did and the list goes on!  I’ve tried several times to change it to Kate, but it just doesn’t stick.  If I change it, it will be 100% and I won’t go back, I just need some input from my blogging friends!  All those in blog land!  Thoughts??

Kate or Katie??

Fresh as snow January 13, 2010

I must say that starting the new decade with friends on the slopes of Colorado, isn’t a bad way to start the new year!  A fresh new layer of snow to ski on and a clean slate to start from, I can’t complain!!  This time off has really give me a lot of opportunities to meet with so many colleagues and friends in the industry to see what I want to do professionally and has taught me so much about myself personally too!  The ski trip was an escape from the end of a challenging year and way for me to refresh myself before hitting the ground running for 2010, and I’m already exhausted from a fantastic New Year!  Lots of interviews, conversations, volunteering, family, friends, tennis, running, church and my days back in the gym fill every moment of my day and I couldn’t be happier.  I know it’s only January 12th, but it’s great to get started on the right foot.  I’ll be blogging more, so stay tuned!

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care… December 13, 2009

I’ve finally finished all of my decorating for Christmas!  For the past 8 years I have typically been on the road a lot for work in December, but not this year!  So, I’ve decided to decorate and enjoy my decorations with having friends and family over for some holiday cheer.  I’ve decorated a 7 1/2 foot tree, put out my nativity scene, hung the stockings, and put several trinkets and treasures all over.  It’s elegantly festive and fun and ready for Santa to come visit!

On this beautiful 7 1/2 foot tree, I have many memorable ornaments that I’ve been collecting all of my life.  The oldest one I have is from when I was born!  It was a gift from my Great Aunt Anne and it’s hand painted with my birthdate on it.  She made several hand painted ornaments for me and I still have them all, they are beautiful!  I also have ornaments from most of the places I have traveled, Bermuda, Colorado, New Orleans, New York, London, Mexico and many more.  I have an ormament from my violin teacher, I have ormanets from childood friends and my most recent addition is a beautiful gold ball my dear friend Danielle gave me at our Cookie Exchange party last weekend.  It is so fun to pull out the ornaments each year and reminice the past and every where I go, I look forward to getting some type of ornament to remember where I’ve been.

Here’s my tree and just a few of many gifts I need to wrap and put under it!  (Please note the matching bags…  those are for my nephews.  They have to have the same of everything!)

Welcome to Atlanta! December 11, 2009

Atlanta Skyline

This week I had the distinct pleasure to welcome over 1700 of people to Atlanta for the IAEE Expo! Expo! (International Association of Exhibitions and Events) as I volunteered for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Monday morning I greeted VIPs at the airport and welcomed them with southern charm to our beautiful city.  As a frequent traveller, I am always the one coming up the escalators and seeing all the greeters but rarely having anyone greet me and I’ve also never been a greeter.  What a great experience!  The USO greeters welcoming all the fine women and men serving our country either coming home or heading back to the line of duty was emotional enough, but also seeing families reuniting for the holiday season was very special.

I also volunteered at the host hotel – Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and the Georgia World Congress Center where the Expo and Seminars were held.  Here we were to help answer any questions about the city and just be a ‘face’ and insight into Atlanta.  I met so many amazing people from all over the country and had some truly entertaining conversations!  Who knew just showing up to be a greeter would turn into such a great networking opportunity and I have now connected with some awesome people all over the country!  Everyone I spoke with was so amazed with Atlanta and loved the city (aside from the unseasonably cold weather) and the ACVB did an outstanding job making sure all attendees felt welcomed in the friendly south.

Great event, great people in a fantastic city!

Thanksgiving – Part 2 November 27, 2009

I wish I could write a ton, as this is the most important thing I am thankful for… but I ran the 1/2 marathon this morning and have no energy, my legs are exhausted as am I from getting up at 4:45am!  So I’ll revisit this one, just didn’t want to leave Part 2 of my Thanksgiving hanging!!

I am so incredibly thankful for my family.  I am so blessed with amazing parents who care so much for me, it drives me crazy sometimes!  My beautiful maternal Grandmother and paternal Grandfather both live in Augusta near my parents so I get to visit with them often.  And my brother, sister-in-law and their 3 kids also live in Augusta.  These kids are unbelievable, I am completely in awe of them and wish I could bottle up everything they do and say and sell it for millions!  They have 2 boys and 1 girl, in that order.  Andrew is the oldest, Baker is the middle and Anne Harper is the youngest.  I could go on for hours about these awesome kids, but I’ll just post a couple of pictures and come back to this subject at a later time.  Take my word for it, they are amazing!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, Part One November 25, 2009

This year I am incredibly thankful for my amazing friends.  This has been an interesting year personally and professionally and without my friends, I would not have come out as strong and confident as I have.  No matter where all my friends are in this world (and you are all over!), this one’s for you!  I am so thankful for each and every one of you.  I have posted a few of you below, but there are many many more who I am so incredibly grateful for as well, just need to update my pictures!  HAPPY THANKGIVING!

There’s lots of things
With which I’m blessed,
My problems have been few,
But of all, this one’s the best:
To have a friend like you.
In times of trouble
Friends will say,
“Just ask, I’ll help you through it.”
But you don’t wait for me to ask,
You just get up and do it!
And I can think
of nothing more
That I could wisely do,
Than know a friend,
And be a friend,
And have a friend like you.
Unknown

Distance Divas November 22, 2009

Yes, that’s what we call ourselves!  This is my group of girls I run with most Saturdays and if we are lucky at some point during the week.  We have recently been training for the Atlanta Track Club, Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, which takes place on Thanksgiving morning at 7:00.  It’s a fun race and a great way to start a day full of gorging on delicious foods and fine wines with family and friends.  But, that’s not the reason I write today. I write to discuss these amazing women I run with.  We meet at awful times, like 5:30AM on Saturdays.  Sheer insanity, especially when it’s this cold out!  But with our busy life schedules, it’s the only way we can get it done and that’s the dedication we all have to run with each other.

We have been running together for 3 years and it’s basically healthy therapy to discuss any and everything.  The sky is the limit and I must say, I think I burn as many calories laughing as I do running!  We come from all walks of life and all have very different professions but the bond we have over wearing no make-up, tights, expensive running shoes and drinking gu’s is very special.  We have been through the good, the bad and the ugly for sure!

Tonight we are celebrating our friendship and several birthdays (including mine!).  A fun night out with ‘my girls’, as I refer to them to my non-running friends.  It’s always so exciting and fun to see everyone in normal, street clothes and make up.  I feel very lucky to have met such great people who I know will keep me running for many years to come.

Weather November 19, 2009

Ever since I was little, I have had a passion for weather.  I love watching The Weather Channel and knowing what is going on around the country and the world.  I am positive I get this passion from my father.  He and I call each other often for updates and if there is a bad storm coming through Atlanta, which will end up where my family is in Augusta, I call to warn him.  Of course, he logs into the internet and we discuss for about 5 minutes.  Odd, I know but we love it!

Recently I was in the Bahamas for an event when Hurricane Bill was approaching.  I was glued to the TV watching all the reports because we had about 1000 people flying in and didn’t want to put anyone in harms way, much less myself!  This was the first time I had to really consider what legal jargon I had included in the contract with the hotel regarding Force Majeure.  This was a Monday, peak arrival for the attendees was on the following Saturday and the hurricane was projected to hit on Saturday or Sunday, not ideal to say the least.  After extensive conversations with our legal department we concluded we could ‘call’ the meeting on Wednesday at 4:00 PM.  Again, I was still glued to The Weather Channel to see where Hurricane Bill was going.  Fortunately on Tuesday, Bill took a turn and headed North.  By Wednesday we felt very comfortable keeping the meeting and the weather actually was perfect for the outdoor event in August.

When I was in college, I was required to take 2 science classes.  Of course I took meteorology for one of them.  (The other was astronomy which I also have a huge fascination with, but I’ll discuss that at a later date).  It was an amazing and very difficult course but taught me so much more about the power and beauty of all things weather.  In the back of my mind, I wanted to be a meteorologist.  So, to fill a life long dream I recently was invited to The Weather Channel for a back stage tour.  They had invited companies who did some advertising with them and fortunately my previous employer did some advertising!  There were about 30 people total, including TWC staffers.  I was in heaven.  I sat with Jim Cantore, Samantha Mohr and Vivian Brown who are all people I have been watching for years on TV.

Below is my proof, I was there!  I sat at the desk you will see many of the on air meteorologist sit at in their new High Def studio here in Atlanta.

 

Me and Sam Mohr at The Weather Channel

 

 

The last 12 hours… November 15, 2009

…of my life have been very exciting!  I worked with my friend Lindsay until the wee hours of the morning on this photo shoot for a fantastic hip-hop artist.  The shoot is for Complex magazine.  Drake will be on the cover and they are doing an article on him as well.  He is honestly a very talented and nice guy, I’m sure most of you know who he is.  We did 3 in studio shots then went out on the town to do ‘action’ shots.  It was an amazing and new experience!

I have a completely new appreciation for photography and can’t wait to utilize more applications on my camera.  It was amazing what can be done with light, movement and different colors.  The photographers were from NYC and have done shoots for most of the major hip-hop artists (Kanye, 50-Cent, Usher etc…) and had some great stories to tell.  There was also a film crew following us around to shoot a “behind the scenes photo shoot with Complex” for their internet site.  Should be cool to see when it’s posted!  I’ll link to it when it’s online.

I didn’t go to sleep until 2:00am and got up at 8:00am to run with “my girls” or as we call ourselves “The Distance Divas”.  We run together and train for different races.  We all trained for a marathon together, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon and the others ran the Chicago.  We are running now to get ready for the Thanksgiving Half Marathon.  I hope I can finish it as it makes the Thanksgiving meal so much better!

I am now sitting on my back patio soaking in the beautiful sun through these enormous old oak trees.  I love my neighborhood, it’s quiet and peaceful.  Some of my favorite people live within a 5 – 10 mile radius, which is great for Atlanta!  I am on several tennis teams and all of them play around the Smyrna/Vinings area as well.  I have been on these teams for 4 years and we have really excelled!  I think we started in the Middle B range in ALTA and around 3.0/3.5 in USTA and now at A3 (hopefully moving up again after we won regionals!) and now 4.0 USTA.  If you are in the tennis world, you know what all this means.  It is an amazing group of women who I have made so many great friendships with that will last a life time!

Off to keep exercising, then to watch some SEC football!