Kudos to Baucsh & Lomb

Way back in the day, in 5th grade, I was told that I was going blind and needed to wear glasses. Okay, I wasn't going blind - but I was in need of glasses! I remember going to the Optometrist and picking out some SNAZZY green glasses. For all of those folks who remember Sally Jesse Raphel - think of her red glasses, but make them green. Pretty! I spent the next 5 years wearing glasses. Finally by the time high school rolled around; I was done! Glasses get dirty. Glasses ruin pictures. Glasses make you look studious (we can all agree; I was certainly not that person!). For my birthday, my parents made me an appointment to get contacts. This might have been the most exciting birthday present so far up to this point.

Upon being fitted for my contacts; I left proud knowing that my new contacts were being ordered and I was on my way to being a new girl. My contacts came in; and I went straight to the bathroom and spent the next 30 minutes attempting to put a contact in just one eye. Yes, you read that right. It took me forever to get the hang of the perfect technique to touching my own eye ball and popping on my new vision.

I've switched contact solutions since then, let's face it - they all do the exact same thing. I'd really just get whatever was on sale and the best bargin. The biggest headache: not really being able to see how much solution you truly had left. Shaking the bottle, you think - okay, I have enough for one more night. Squeeeeeze it into the holder - you get 1/2 a holder. Darn it! Wouldn't it be amazing if you could actually see how much solution you truly had left and when you were in dire needs of going to the store and picking up a new bottle?

(Drum Roll, please)

THANK YOU, BAUSCH & LOMB! You have officially made my life easier; and I can SEE in the bottle now how much solution is left! It officially took a company a million years to come up with this concept! I'm happy to announce: I am now an advocate for Re-Nu Fresh drops! No more generic. No more Opti-Free. No more Complete Multi-Purpose. HELLLOOOOO RE-NU!!

I MUST Have Been Good This Year!

I love Christmas, but I mean - who does?! Christmas is all about spending time with your family and continuing family traditions which have been in your family for years! Christmas also means that it is the deciding factor if you have been good or naughty through the year. I always thought of myself as being on the "good list," but certainly understand that some years in my past were questionable. This year, Santa proved himself to be amazing as ever and virtually gave me everything that was on my list! I cannot tell you any of my past years where this has happened! My favorite gifts (in no particular order!) are as follows:

Heating Mattress Pad: no chance is showing you a picture, because let's face it - it's not that exciting! But, for this girl who is always shivering when she gets in bed and loves being covered by blankets - I didn't want an electric blanket. I just wanted a electric mattress pad to sleep on top of. How amazing does that sound!? I cannot wait to put it on my bed!

From my Little Sister: All I wanted was a new Estee Lauder Eyeliner. Just one would have been fine. I love my black eyeliner that my Mom had given me a while back and honestly became my favorite brand. So, on my list - one little stick of eyeliner. To my surprirse, I open up a big box that says Estee Lauder on it and it is ALL of this! 4 lipsticks (which I will NEVER use and will go to my Mom for Mother's Day. ha ha), eyelash primer, mascara, 15 eye shadows, 3 blushes, eye makeup remover, a few makeup brushes, a luggage case, makeup carrier AND THREE EYE LINERS!! Whhhat?! I love my sister.

Again, from my Little Sister: I walked into the Gap a few weeks ago and saw this scarf. I saw it, but really needed to focus on being myself some work pants and/or shirts NOT a scarf for myself. After going home, I realized that someone needed that scarf and I would buy it for someone for Christmas. When I went back to the Gap, it was gone. Every Gap in Columbus, sold out. I went to Cleveland and I was too lazy to check the Gap in Hudson... so I just let it go. Honestly, I say I wanted it for someone else - but I would have kept it for myself. Shhh! Low and behold, I open up a box and BAM! There it is! The amazingly soft purple and gray Blanket Scarf from the Gap! My sister was on the verge of beating me because everytime I was with her - I wanted to go and buy it. I almost bought it, but something told me not to buy it. Thankfully, I didn't! Isn't she pretty!?

Once again, from my sister: she gets mad at me year after year after year because she claims I always make her look bad with the gifts I buy her. I tend to spend the most on her, but no where do I expect her to spend the same amount or near it on me! I will say - this year, she did great! She knows I am big on my cooking lately, and to follow my makeup and scarf - she bought me a few kitchen items would I cannot WAIT to use! My favorite: The Martha Stewart 5-Piece Grating Set! It has 3 different types of graters! I can slice, I can shread or I can grate and it all goes into a handy dandy little container with cup measurements on the side. Ohhhh-- ahhhh!!

Seriously, just when I think my Christmas cannot get any better - this little baby comes out of a box. My Kenmore Elite Standing Mixer. YAYYY, SANTA! (Cough, Cough - Mom & Dad!). I am beginning to think with all of the cooking and baking I've been getting into - Recruiting isn't my calling and I should open up a restaurant or bakery! I am sooo excited to get using my mixer and am still determining what would be the best thing to make to start off with!

Thank you, Santa for making all of my wishes come true!! I promise that in 2010, I will be a good girl again so you can bring me everything on that list too!

Becca's Year in Review: 2009

Typically, when January 1st hits - I make a New Years Resolution and by February 1st, I will have failed miserable at keeping it. In an effort make me a happier girl, I made the decision to keep this one that I felt was one of the most important to my life as it currently is. The resolution: To have more fun! I told myself on January 1st, 2009 - I will find things fun to do every month (minimum of one time, but more is a bonus!). I have to say, I feel I did pretty good at keeping this resolution and I do feel a little bit better about myself and what currently is happening in my life - just by making a conscious effort to get myself out there more and do things to make ME happy! This may end up sounding like a Christmas Letter; but that's okay!

January: This is a very important month - since the first day of the year starts off with a bang with my birthday. In the past, my New Year's festivities were minimal. When I say minimal, I mean non-existant. It's sad really. My birthday falls on one of the biggest party days of the year and I literally never had anything really to look forward to when it comes to having nights out or what not. I don't know why, I just didn't. 2009 New Years, a group of friends and I went out to a very fancy dinner, and brought in the New Year with some wine and fun. I'm glad to say that for the first time in a LONG time - I had a great New Year's Eve! Additionally, my friends surprised me with a great birthday surprise! January marked my first visit ever to a Psychic! I've always wanted to go, but was scared to death for them to tell me I'd be hit by a bus tomorrow. Thankfully, it was not in my future. Really, hardly anything has come true - but the experience itself was fun and I am glad I did it!

**Friends at New Years Dinner at M in Columbus.**

February: I hate February. It is a hurtful month for those people like myself who are single and have the constant reminder of Valentine's Day. I'll be honest: nothing fun happened in February. The month is the devil, and personally I think it should be deleted from the calendar all together.

March: I was lucky enough to travel for work and went to a new place, Niagara Falls, New York. Granted, it wasn't the most glamourous of business trips - but it was a lot of fun and I was able to meet a co-worker for the 1st time in person! We had a great time getting to know each other and spent an evening wasting some money at the Seneca Niagara Casino. Love it!

**Freezing my you-know-what-off at the Falls!**

April: Birthdays were a big thing this year, and my friends and I decided it would be fun to have little birthday surprises for each other. After my trip to Niagara Falls, I thought it would be fun to take a friend there for her birthday. I mean, road trips, casino buffets and gambling... what's not to love?! So- off we went for a weekend up north and even crossed the boarder to Canada for some excitement. We live on the edge, what can I say? It's amazing to think that when I was there in March, there was ice so thick you couldn't even see the railing to the falls. In April, it was warm and short sleeves and capris were perfect!

**View of the Falls in the Springtime**

May: The Warren Family ventured to Alaska for a trip to see my cousin Keya graduate high school and enjoy time with family. Alaska is truly a great place to visit if you ever get the itch, I highly recommend it. I am much more of a girl to go exploring rather than sitting on a beach and looking like a beached whale. So - vacations to places such as this is perfect for me! We did so much car riding and saw so many great places, it was a lot of fun. Especially to see family, who we don't get to see as often as any of us would like!

**Trip to Homer, Alaska**

June: We started the month of June off by celebrating a friend's birthday in Hocking Hills and camping. I haven't been one for camping, but honestly - just thinking about going really excited me. Remember, I'm trying new things! We had a great time, for the most part. During this time of month, I was struggling with my gall bladder and virtually lived in pain or fear of pain majority of the time. I was so very thankful that my attacks did not mess with camping and instead hit 12 hrs before we left, and 12 hrs after we got home. Thank goodness! After my fabulous day of hiking the hills, and spending 2 hrs attempting to build a campfire - things couldn't have been better. The following week, I finally found that I had gall stones and I needed my gall bladder removed. IT'S ABOUT TIME! 7 years later! So - I am happy to report that June was a great month for the fact that I can now eat anything without living in the fear that I will have an attack later. Woo hoo! Granted, I've gained about 23948209842 lbs from "experimenting" with the foods I couldn't eat before. (Can you guess what my 2010 Resolution should be by that sentence??)


July: Honestly, this was one of my most favorite months in 2009! We decided to surprise Courtney with a trip to Chicago for her birthday! We found a great deal on a plane ticket and we decided to venture off for a day and spend one night out there. We ventured around the city, had a great steak dinner at Gene & Georgetti's and all around had a great time. Additionally, July was my 10th High School Class Reunion where I reconnected with great friends and have had some great times with them following the reconnection. I even had a surprise visitor come, Lisa Beck, who I worked with closely for the first 2 yrs at Cardinal. She came to Columbus from Sacramento, and it was great to see her- even if it was only for one day!

**Posing with Obama at the Sears Tower**

August: Started the month off with a bang at the Dublin Irish Festival. Loved the Bailey's, loved the music, loved the food, loved the people! Not much more to say other than had a great time! August was also a sad month to counteract the fun. Big changes were mad at work and I lost majority of my team due to changes. I rolled from being an HP-eHRO employee, to a Cardinal Health employee. Where the changes are very positive, and I can understand the reasons, it was still hard to say goodbye to such great friends! Thank goodness for a Martini Party to help with my sarrows. :)

**Mary, Courtney & Becca at the Dublin Irish Festival**

September: Another great month! Earlier in the year, my dear cousin Rhiannon announced that she was expecting a wee one. Music to my ears! Typically, various September's some of our family head's back to Seattle for the Western Washington fair. (Mom loves the fair!) Rhiannon had her Baby Shower the same time we were in town so we could attend. I had such a great visit catching up with one of my childhood best friends, Jessica, and her girls - Ally & Kamdyn. I was able to spend lots of time with my cousins Jaclyn & Rhiannon. As well as spend time with other family members I miss terribly! All in all, the trip was great and I loved every minute of it! During September, I also ventured down to the Short North in Columbus and for the first time - went to the Greek Festival. A blast! Would love to go back every year, it was a lot of fun!

*The proud parents to be! Kenny & Rhiannon at the family dinner during our Seattle trip.**

**Caught up with some other family members during our trip!**

October: Things are starting to get busy in the Fall! Between Michael Jackson's movie coming out and seeing that 3 times, having a small Halloween Get-Together at our apartment among other things, I was one busy bee! I was able to meet a dear co-worker for the 1st time with his trip to Dublin, and it was a great night! It is so great to meet someone for the 1st time and have worked with them for years. I also ventured north in October and attended a Wine Train, Halloween themed. Riding a train, eating snacks and being served wine - nothing could be better!

November: Oh lord, November was BUSY! However, a lot of fun too! Before somethings started coming around - the most exciting thing for me was that New Moon was coming out in the movie theater! I mean, that made my month enough already - but then a few more things came about which made it even more fun. Took a road trip to Peoria, Illinois to watch my dear cousin run in a cross country event. Poor girl came down with mono among other things, and wasnt able to run. However, we did get to spend time with her and my uncle - and that was fantastic! I love seeing family! Thanksgiving was great, Black Friday was amazing, and the HR Columbus Blue Jackets event was a BLAST! It is so nice to attend these fun events with co-workers, and mingle about!

**Steph, Callie, Susie & I at the Columbus Blue Jackets game!**

Finally, the last month of the year - December. I love Christmas Time! Now that we are Cardinal employees - we were invited to all of the great Holiday parties. We were able to attend 2 parties, and that was GREAT! Being that we are all Cardinal Health employees now, it really brings a sense of togetherness! As I do every year, I volunteered again for the Delaware County People in Need Holiday Clearinghouse - as Toyland Chair Person yet one more time! We had a great turn out and my trusty volunteers were great as usual! We handed out toys to 555 kids (Newborn-9 yrs), and everything went perfectly. Hopefully those toys bring a smile to some kids face this year! Additionally, I went to see the Columbus Ballet perform the Nutcracker, and saw Jim Brickman in concert in Cleveland. Nothing more perfect than a marriage proposal at a Jim Brickman concert... it was very romantic and of course brought a tear to my eye.

The most important thing of 2009: The birth of Cohen Patrick Brovold. I love this baby with all my heart! I couldn't be more happy for my dear cousin to experience something as great as this! Baby Cohen was born on December 10th, and is absolutely perfect. I love this baby as if he were my own. I cannot wait to start of 2010 with a trip to Seattle to meet him in person, and to give my dear cousin a great big hug!

Wishing everyone a great 2010, and hope that your Holiday Season is better than you can ever imagine!

My Happy Place

A few years ago, I was provided a deal from a friend that I didn't have to think long and hard about - and went with my gut and agreed. At the time, I was a constant babysitter and was always running around to different families and watching some very special children. One of those families, The Dunsmore's. I love the Dunsmore Family. I love them for various reasons, but I love them even more for offering me a piece of furniture if I would babysit for free a time or two. Finding out which piece of furniture it was, I was so happy I couldn't even see straight.


Everyone: Meet my red chair. Red Chair, meet everyone! This is my red chair, and this is a big part of my happiness in life! I know, it sounds silly - but it's true! Let me give you the Top 10 Reasons as to why this amazing piece of furniture makes me happy.

10.) It's from the Dunsmore's; and what isn't to love about the Dunsmore's!? It provides me with a memory of this fantastic family since they moved to Alabama and oh how I miss those boys! (Joe & Sheryl too!) **Did I mention that my little piece of heaven was free?**
9.) I bought a brand new table when I moved into my apartment over a year ago. I have yet to eat at my table but instead my ottoman is a GREAT table for my meals.
8.) The view to the tv is FANTASTIC from my chair. I mean, I cannot explain how clear Ellen is when I watch her show that is DVR'd daily. (She's giving a Beatles Library right now that I am pretty sure my Dad needs for Christmas).
7.) Looking up: the heat vent. Ahhhhh, yes!
6.) IF I took naps, this would be the place I'd sleep! I can remember one time when I spent all night in the ER due to the ever famous gall bladder attacks. The next day was horrible; and I was truly exhausted from the pain pills they prescribed me. This red chair was the best nap I've EVER taken in my life. I can stretch out. I can hang my legs over the arms. I can sit back and let my head and drool fall.
5.) Directly to the left corner on the floor sits my: "Grandma Basket." This is the basket that once was the perfect place to keep my Christmas Card supplies during the Holiday Season, but has accumulated various other things to keep me occupied, or to promote laziness. In the basket you can find: markers, cds, address book, and some random cords (all important!). I really think it's missing yarn and my ability to knit.
4.) It's formed to my body. I can sit down and essentially melt into the fabric and into the same place that I sit when I sit here. (Yes, I am sitting here right now. Surprised?)
3.) I can view my sister's beautiful face in the corner of her green couch directly across from me. She can see me, I can see her - and guess what - we are both comfortable. She typically falls asleep in her spot around 8pm. (Shhhh, she's sleeping there at the moment!)
2.) It is equal distance to the fridge for my stock of Diet Coke, as to the bathroom when the Diet Coke goes through me.
1.) No matter how bad a day I could have, coming home to my red chair - it doesn't judge me, it doesn't speak ill of me, and instead loves me for who I am! I can sit, watch tv, and cry watching a sappy show and my chair will always love me the same! My red chair is my happy place, hands down!

Don't you wish you had a happy place like mine?