Merry Christmas- I admit it- I am a bit late on getting around to writing this year. December has been extremely busy and hectic for me. This was my first December living in Chicago and working as a regional wholesaler for Nationwide so I did not realize how much work and all of the corporate parties and such would overtake my life for almost two weeks. You might think that holiday party after holiday party would be fun- think again. It is work to continually be entertaining clients, not nearly as much fun as a holiday gathering of family and friends. To make the season even more stressful I developed the worst cold that I had experienced in about 2 years- it made the full circle from the sinuses to my chest. Mom and Dad also made a December visit to Chicago. We did the full shopping experience in downtown Chicago. Macy’s on State Street (the former Marshall Fields store) was spectacular. The windows were decorated in a Mary Poppins theme which was really unique. One of the upper levels of the store is a dining room called The Walnut Room- which featured their annual 30 foot Christmas tree which was really beautiful. Another holiday highlight was my first real fresh-cut Christmas tree. Good friend, Megan helped me select the tree and decorate it. I really enjoyed the fresh evergreen scent in the house. My neighborhood in Chicago, Andersonville, was very festive all season. The shops along Clark St. had tempting gifts for everyone on my list. For Christmas I did treat myself and purchased a Sirius Satellite radio- I really enjoyed it on the drive back home to Ohio-- I had a clear signal the entire way and great music. I am impressed that they have an all Elvis radio station- who knew???
2006 was certainly an eventful year for me and in reflection was a whirlwind of activity. I feel very blessed to have had so many wonderful things happen in my life during the past year. To reward my sales in 2005 I had such a great trip to Huntington Beach, CA with good friend Greg. It was so much fun and a trip to remember for a lifetime. In March and early April I was given a short term assignment in San Francisco, CA with Nationwide. It was quite a challenge to learn how to navigate the Bay area in my rental car- but it was so much fun and so beautiful. In May my second nephew, Dillon was born (what a cutie). Over Memorial Day weekend I packed up after 7 years in Columbus, Ohio and moved Chicago- the windy city. The corporate move was quite an adventure. I am still shocked at how quickly those packers had my life in boxes. I am still looking for a few things- that are apparently in the stack of boxes I have not yet unpacked. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be fully unpacked again. Over the summer I was blessed with tons of visitors from Ohio which allowed me to be a tourist in my own city- how cool. In November I traveled back to Northern California for a second time to attend my graduation from The American College with my Chartered Life Underwriter degree (basically it means I know about life insurance). This time I took my parents along for the ride. We had awesome weather- and a spectacular drive along the Pacific Coast highway. With my job I have also gotten to explore all of Illinois, Iowa, and the Dakotas.
While no year is perfect- this year will be hard to beat. I only hope that life is treating each and every one of you as well- if not better. I thank God for all the blessing of 2006 and pray for all my friends and family for a wonderful 2007.
