Another reason why I love my family...

All jobs are stressful for one reason or another. In my job, a very stressful time is when I work on month-long projects. We work long hours and there is a lot of corporate pressure/exposure based on our results. Not only am I away from close friends and family, but life out of a suitcase (no matter how nice the hotel) is never fun. My parents, who know this themselves all too well, had a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers sent to me at the hotel to brighten up my room. I picked them up on Saturday evening after a long day of work. It was such an incredible suprise...and I LOVE sunflowers. I am a very lucky girl! Thanks Mom and Dad! You made my stay feel more like home. I can't wait to see you on Friday!

Love

Jodie

"Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul."

~The Koran

A Wonderful Weekend with the Family

Last weekend I went to visit Mom, Dad, and Mike in New Jersey. We had a fantastic weekend!The only thing missing was Adam...11 more days until I get to see him!! First we went to the outlet stores in PA, and then headed to Clarks Summit for some reminicing. We lived in Clarks Summit for a year when I was 9 years old. So many wonderful memories were made in that short period of time. We became proud parents to our Springer Spaniel Roxanne. I learned to horseback ride and ski. Life was very safe and simple in Clarks Summit. The only time Mom worried about Mike and I being outside alone was during deer hunting season. Otherwise we could run around outside all day and not come back until it was dark. We would bike ride to the store to buy candy and soda in glass bottles. We would sit on a rock half way home (Charles rock, named after our buddy Charles) and drink the soda and then crash the empty bottles. It seemed so cool to be able to throw glass. Heaven knows you can't do that at your house! After that we could make a quick stop at the creek to play with crayfish on the way home. Mike introduced the local kids to skateboarding. I hosted a neighborhood dog show...complete with homemade ribbons and dog biscuit prizes! We used to visit a dairy to buy homemade ice-cream and fresh milk in glass bottles. Clark Summit holds many great memories for our family, so it was wonderful going back for the afternoon.

"When you look at your life, the greatness happiness are family happinesses"
~Joyce Brothers

Betcha Never Rode a Barrel of Bourbon....

This afternoon Flore, Nicole, and I went to the Kentucky Horse Park. It is a really cool place which educates people about horses. The park also hosts events including polo matches, equestrian show jumping competitions, dressage, and many other.

As some of you might know, Grandpa the Sailor Man used to take me to visit the horses as a little girl. He once even took me early in the morning before the track opened so we could walk around the stables and visit the thoroughbreds. So needless to say, visiting the Kentucky Horse Park was a special treat for me.

We met 3 famous racehorses. One of them was Cigar, the biggest moneymaker in North America that is still living... a very impressive and beautiful horse! The photo below shows a statue of the famous racehorse Man O' War who came from Lexington. He is considered to be the greatest racehorse of all time. He is the father of Triple Crown winner War Admiral and he's also Seabiscuit's grandpa.

We also saw Shire horses that were 18.1 hands. This means that if you were to ride the horse the saddle would sit 6 feet high!

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I really enjoyed myself today. Again, only thing missing is Adam. He leaves for the US in 2 days... Can't wait to see him soon!

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
~Winston Churchill

Hiking at Natural Bridge

On Saturday I went hiking with my colleagues Flore (on the left in picture below) and Nicole (on the right). We hiked for roughly 4 hours at Natural Bridge in Kentucky. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was excellent. I only wish Adam was here to see it. I know he would love it!

Warm wishes from the Blue Grass State!
Jodie

"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug." ~Helen Keller