Bitchin' Camaro

My blog would be incomplete if it didn't include photos of Tyler's car--its existence marks such an important milestone in our lives. Honestly, I don't especially like the car. When I agreed to this, I really didn't know it would be as loud as it is. And I really didn't know it would have that "I-can't-see-small-children-in-front-of-the-car" scoop on the hood (the engine came out of a Suburban...the scoop is there so that the air conditioner would fit.)

But all reasonable concerns aside, the project did turn out beautifully. Tyler is super excited about this car, as you might imagine a 16 year old would be. I am cautiously optimistic that he will drive it safely and handle with care.





The back story...
Tyler's grandparents purchased this project car 3.5 years ago, as a gift for his 13th birthday (Thank you Grandma Jennie & Grandpa Allen!) Tyler has logged several hours in the garage with Grandpa Allen (of Portsmouth, Ohio) each summer, learning all about fixing up the car. Grandpa spent more than "several" hours getting the car to its current state. Tyler turned 16 in June and flew to Ohio with his dad to pick up the car later in the summer.

Sad days for Tyler...
Just a couple of days before the Camero arrived at our home this past August, Tyler caused an accident that inflicted significant damage to our truck and to another driver's Malibu. So Tyler has spent the past few months logging additional "practice" hours driving the truck on various errands, driving the Camero with mom or dad in the car, and also doing extra work chores to pay for the insurance deductible, attorney's fee, and court costs.

All is well that ends well...
Tyler is FINALLY out of "hock." Effective with the new semester beginning in January, Tyler will begin driving "Bruce" (named for the sharks in "Finding Nemo") back and forth to school each day. They are VERY excited about this new development. Please remember Tyler and Bruce in your thoughts and prayers in 2008. They'll really need every advantage as they brave the chaos of the Blue Springs South High School parking lot, where approximately 2000 other crazy parents allow young drivers to move vehicles around at exactly the same time each day.

She's Got Style!

Abbey performed 3 songs at McIntire Studios' Winter Recital, showcasing a semester worth of vocal development. It is fun to see her performances getting stronger and stronger. Today while reflecting on this performance with her voice teacher, Abbey learned a new term, "Unmotivated Motion" which Michelle says she will be working to avoid during the next semester ;-) What you don't get to see in this clip is how terrific she has become at identifying new learning opportunities for herself and providing insightful feedback to other singers as well. Please enjoy listening to Abbey doing the thing she loves best of all.

This performance includes:

• Wild Mountain Thyme (trad., arr Snyder)
• The Little China Figure (Leoni)
• Before I Gaze at You Again, from Camelot (Lowe)

Why Sprint?

The holiday season provides many opportunities to visit with friends and extended family. "How's the new job going?" is the obvious conversation starter. "Great!" I always say. The fact is, I love my new job. I'm surrounded by a team of incredibly smart and highly skilled people who are passionate about what we do, including Dan Kneeshaw, Kami Brady, Mark Kochanowski, and Terry Pulliam just to name a few. I've been asked to lead intranet portal (internal web) adoption and usability. The legacy Sprint and legacy Nextel intranets were only just merged onto one platform in September. I am grateful that this huge and daunting task was completed prior to my tenure with Sprint. Now I have the opportunity to help with the fun stuff...developing a strategy to continually improve the user experience over time. And with that charge, I have the opportunity to touch many systems that drive intranet usability. Those of you who know me well and who have worked with me in the past will understand why this is such an exciting opportunity for me. This is the kind of work that I love to do. Its what I am passionate about.

The next question (the one people really meant to ask in the first place) is, "Why Sprint?" Just to help validate the implied "are you crazy?!" tone that accompanies this question, Sprint does have a terrible reputation. Everyone knows a Sprint customer service horror story. Everyone knows someone who "used to work at Sprint." Its not on Fortune's "100 best companies to work for" list. The benefits are not quite as terrific as the benefits I had at American Century. Judging by the view from the streets that surround Sprint, it has a somewhat prison-like appearence. The news is plastered weekly with negative articles that confirm our suspicions. And it just seems scary to go to work for an organization that does not have a CEO or a COO at the moment. Why would anyone try to build a career at Sprint?

So, here are my top 10 reasons for working at Sprint:

10. Free employee phone service and $15 phone plan for friends
9. Beautiful environment--I'm amazed at how pretty the campus is!
8. Competitive benefits package
7. Leadership direction to fix customer service
6. Personal and professional growth opportunities
5. Exceptional salary
4. Resources available to achieve results at a "world class" scale
3. I can reduce frustration and make work life easier for 60,000+
2. Flexible schedule allows me to take care of my family needs
1. Working with passionate people who love what they do

One final note... I recognize that this is a time of great change for Sprint, and that the strategic direction Sprint chooses could have significant impact on my job. No doubt, my time at Sprint (or anyplace else) is temporary--who knows if I'll be here 2 years or 10 years or more. But the relationships I create, the experiences I gain, and the reputation I keep are not temporary. And the opportunity I have at Sprint to grow all of these things is well worth the risk.

Thanksgiving Day

This was my first ever Thanksgiving with my dad and all of my siblings on his side of our family. In fact, I think it may have been my first holiday of any kind with all of us together. Many thanks to my sister Kelly for coordinating schedules to make all of that happen. And thanks to everyone for coming from such faraway places as Texas, Washington, and North Carolina. Hosting Thanksgiving dinner was a much preferred task to so much travel! (Especially because I had lots of great help from my dad, my aunts Ellen & Jane, and my cousin Rebecca.) Kelly, thanks too for the photos!


Stock siblings from left to right, Emma (age 21), Morgan (age 23), Kelly(age 30), and Karen (old enough to know better than to tell my age ;-)

Cousins Bella (age 2) and Emery (age 4) sharing a favorite pass-time, watching "Backyardigans" after Thanksgiving dinner.

Barbie Princess Rosella

Emery won the hearts of all the people she saw handing out Halloween treats this year. When doors opened, Emery would politely say, "Happy Halloween!" People were very taken with her and would ask, "Are you a Princess?" And Emery responded, "Yup! I'm Princess Rosella from the Barbie Island Princess movie, now available on DVD!"

They Really Believed She Was Glinda!

I'm not entirely sure if this was what my mom had in mind when dreaming that her granddaughter would one day wear her wedding gown...we captured a photo of Abbey and Grandma Susie together with the dress, just in case!

Abbey was such a beautiful Glinda in Moreland Ridge Middle School's fall 2007 production of The Wizard of Oz. David recorded the final performance of the show. I've attached a 3 minute segment of Glinda meeting Dorothy in Munchkin Land. The kids did a fantastic job. And the Music and Theater directors at Moreland Ridge are positively amazing people! With the exception of the piano and sound effects, this show was run entirely by a cast and crew of about 50 children ages 11-14.

I am also very proud of the Dorothy and Glinda costumes. My mom donated her wedding dress, which I transformed from a "bridal" look to more of a "magical" look using lots of peach tulle, crystal beads and sparkly sequins. We purchased the crown online and embellished it with extra crystals. I made Dorothy's dress from a Simplicity pattern purchased at Walmart. It features a special little pocket that Jordyn used to keep treats for "Toto." I had a whole lot of fun putting those costumes together!

The best part of the show happened after the final curtain. All the little girls gathered around Abbey asking for autographs and to have their pictures taken with her. They hugged her. They reached out to gently touch her sparkly dress. One little girl even wanted to know what she'd done with her magic wand. Abbey said, "This must be what it's like to be a Princess at Disneyland!" They really believed she was Glinda!

2007 BSSHS Boys JV Soccer Season Ends

Tyler's soccer season ended about a week ago. One of the parents took zillions of pictures this season, and each of the kids received a cd with each photo he appears in. Tyler's cd had over 150 photos! I cannot even imagine the time it took to do this for every boy in the program (Blue Springs South has 3 soccer teams.) Here are just a few of Tyler's photos to capture the essence...