spt

can you believe summer is winding down? for me, it flew by. i feel a little out of touch with the blogosphere (and that had me a little sad!)

i loved the answers to the challenge: citius, altius, fortius. there was so much creativity, so much fun! up until this minute, i was stressing that i didn't have an idea for next week! but, as it always does, inspiration struck at just the right moment!!

(i hope you are enjoying the monthly challenges, because i seem to be stuck on that idea right now...)

in september, i am going to explore all the ways in which my life has become richer through the blogging connections i've created over the past few years. there are so many things i have done, so many challenges i've undertaken, so many ribbons i've tied, all because of inspiration from the blogosphere. i bet you can think of five examples before you reach the end of this post.

well, good! because it just so happens there are FIVE tuesdays in september. how about it?

your challenge is to highlight one thing per week that you have been inspired to do "because of a blogger." maybe it is a blogger you know (an old friend, a neighbor). maybe it is a blogger who is on your RSS feed. or maybe your creativity was sparked by a "drive-by" - a link to a link to a link. (wherever you found your inspiration, please try to give a nod to the appropriate blogger.)

i have broken the month into 5 "categories."

tuesday, september 2 home decor/tabletop
tuesday, september 9 entertaining/parties
tuesday, september 16 arts and crafts
tuesday, september 23 in the kitchen
tuesday, september 30 personal growth

this is a great month to come back to spt!! won't you join us?!? if anyone asks you why you're taking your own picture, simply smile and say, "because of a blogger..."

spt

citius.

allow me to introduce you to someone you might not know. i haven't spent much time with her lately, but in honor of this week's spt, i'm going to invite her out for a walk around the block.

why don't you go say hello?

she is, by no means, fast. in fact, she hasn't even put on her running shoes in over a month. she has goals (Olympic? well, maybe not...) but she exists. and she would like to thank spt for helping her to remember that.



did you have fun with this challenge? i'm counting down until the 2010 Winter Games...

finding my way back to me

just a quick update for those of you (including ME), who are tired of stopping by and seeing the same old post.

* this summer has been one of extremes. extreme highs (Seussical!)(reconnecting with some dear friends via Facebook!) and extreme lows (my fortius is definitely being tested.) the rush from one extreme to the other has left me a bit fuzzy, and definitely exhausted (was anyone else awake watching the replay of the Closing Games at 2:30 a.m.??)

* i am finally getting caught up on housework! blech.

* there is family in town and i am being careful to carve time out of my ridiculously hectic schedule to spend time just visiting. hard to do when everyone is on vacation, and you are the one at work.

* i am dreadfully behind on thank you notes & posting good mail. but, please know that i have been buoyed through the past month by thoughtful notes and gifts.

* today is Back to School!! a big day for my 2nd grader who is making the big jump from small montessorri to larger public school. you cannot tell by this first-day-of-school picture ("mom, i don't like first-day-of-school pictures"), but he was especially thrilled about picking out his outfit and buying lunch. here's to a great year, sport!



* with the show over, and no more need for pigtails, i took myself off to get a haircut last week. ahhhhh....



slowly and surely, finding my way back to me.

spt

altius. of a different nature.

during nights that we didn't have the show, or practice, jack and i tried to have quiet nights. we would watch the Olympics and play board games. how perfect that we happened to have the Olympic Challenge trivia game?!? (the Hilton Family, which includes Hampton Inns, is an official Olympic partner. this game is just another one of those fun "perks.")



(please excuse the look of total exhaustion on my face!)
we had a lot of fun, despite the fact that the trivia was very challenging. thank goodness for multiple choice answers!! (i must confess, trivia games are not my forte.)

i chuckled when i saw this printed on the box:



can you believe the Olympics are almost over??

the final curtain

seussical is over now...

oh, how i wish i had the words to tell you how wonderful this was for me.

spt

altius.

i have been flying high since we opened Seussical last weekend. it's amazing how wonderful i feel on stage, and surrounded by such talented friends!! enjoy...

best friends

we have enjoyed a great opening weekend of Seussical! and had a chance to unwind last night at a birthday party for uncle mark. thanks to my friend michelle for being a shutterbug! i love this photo!!

keep your fingers crossed... there may be video to watch soon!!

ahhh-lympics

i've not had much time to get into the Olympics yet, what with the show opening last night. (Seuss updates and *hopefully* some video soon!!) i've just found some time to graze through photos of yesterday's opening ceremonies.

Mark Foster

photo courtesy Phil Walter/Getty Images

i think i'm in love [swoon]. and swimming hasn't even started yet!
have you been watching the Olympics?

when you think about seuss!

spt

*seussical* opens friday night, which makes this week one of the hardest weeks of the year: late nights, forgotten lines, costume fixes, mismatched harmonies... did i mention the late nights??

but that also makes this week one of the greatest weeks of the year for me: bonding with the cast backstage, perfecting dance moves, nailing the Bflat, feeling the warm glow of the spotlight.

getting a little giddy reading the preview in the on-line edition of our local paper

fortius. i draw strength from being on the stage. i am an entertainer, a star-in-my-own-world. i feel a tremendous responsibility to lead each cast with my strength, whether i am in the spotlight or in the chorus line. i relish in the "roar of the crowds." my life is currently consumed by the wubbulous world of dr. seuss, and i wouldn't have it any other way!!

gift horses

we're going to be giving the old hampton inn southport website a facelift this month. well, not just my little hotel in southport. all 1500 hampton inns.

somebody at the corporate office had a great idea to get the GMs motivated to spiffy up their website photos. somebody at the corporate office created 1500 packages, including a very detailed guide on how to take the 13 new required photographs for the website, a tripod, and some very official release forms to be signed by all persons appearing in the photographs. somebody even sent along a *high-end* digital camera to make the job easier.





somebody loves me!

spt

the Olympics arrive this month! are you as excited as i am?? i have always been a fan of the Olympic Games (although i profess to be slightly more excited by winter games than summer.) my fondness for the Olympics rose to new heights when i was living in atlanta during the Summer Games 1996. wow. that seems like a lifetime ago.

this summer, the Games will be in Beijing, which is just about as far away from north carolina as you can get! i look forward to watching dozens of competitions (swimming and diving are high on my must-watch list). but i'm almost more excited to see the *human interest* stories, the geographical video clips, the cultural snippets we will be exposed to through the wonders of NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, sports bloggers and even creative women currently living in the host city.

while i'm far from an Olympic athlete, i like to think that i exhibit some of the same skill and determination that they do. so this month, for spt, i will challenge myself to uphold the ideals of the Olympic motto:

citius, altius, fortius

[faster, higher, stronger]
These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition, and to view this effort as a victory in itself.



so, how about this? there are four tuesdays in august (which happens to be one of the craziest months of the year.) i know i will have my hands full with "Seussical," installing new carpet at the hotel, back to school, and, of course, watching the Olympics!! i want to make the most of my spt for the month, without feeling pressure to answer specific challenges each week. so, this month, each week we will do the same challenge!

each week, think about the Olympic motto, and how it can apply to our every day lives. citius. altius. fortius. are we giving our best? can we find victories in the efforts we make every day?

i'll see you on the gold medal podium!