Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm doing it again. I'm copping out and sending my holiday greetings via my Holiday Yule Blog. I have plenty of Christmas Cards and I'll be forced to send those to friends who have not been dragged (kicking & screaming) into the 21st century and have not given me their email addresses or, worse yet, have not yet gotten on Facebook.

(Honestly, if you're one of my Facebook friends, you don't need this letter to tell you about my year because I've been telling you all along. So what are you doing here? Stalking me????)

It was one very incredible year for me.

Three years of preparation paid off in January with a very successful 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championship. As always, the event flew by and it was all over before I knew it. The Xcel Energy Center was the venue for the event and they were outstanding to work with. I was blessed to have an incredible team of volunteers and professionals.

It truly was the biggest event of my life. Being the Co-chair of the Championships was an opportunity to learn and prove myself. It was exhausting and energizing and I would do again in a heartbeat. It took me a few months to recover from the event and adjust back to regular life - a life where I wasn't receiving 90 to 100 emails a day!

In May, our family gathered together to celebrate my niece's wedding. Anne married Derek Sternhagen and it was an incredible weekend. Seeing Anne, her sister Kelly and their cousin Casey decked out really brought it home that these kids have grown up. (And that they are now too old to be flower girls or even junior bridesmaids in my wedding, but for some reason they insist they still can be.)

I knew the summer was going to be fun when my niece Kelly informed me that she had a pharmacy internship at the VA. Kelly and I are WAY TOO much alike (to the point that it scares her parents). My condo is tiny, but I don't think either one of us cared. She was simply thrilled to have satellite TV, an Internet connection and a Wii.

But the summer also gave us our biggest scare when my sister Chris (Kelly's mom) was diagnosed with Stage IV Esophageal Cancer. On July 2nd, They found a 10cm tumor along with two smaller tumors (one of which was on her lymph node). It was the lump on her neck that clued her in to something wrong because she had no symptoms. We are so lucky to have Mayo Clinic in our state and even luckier that Sue & Paul live just outside of Rochester and Chris would be able to stay with them during her radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

The treatments were brutal and really took a toll, but Chris hung in there and on September 10th, the doctors couldn't even find any tumor tissue to biopsy. All three were gone. A check-up earlier this month was a "thumbs up," too.

I didn't travel as much this year as I have in the past, but I had two conferences back-to-back that provided me with a couple of days of vacation in excellent locations. In mid-August, I traveled to New York City (one of my favorite places) and met up with Mary Jo Dorman to enjoy the sites and sounds of the city together. MJD powershopped and visited the sites while I spent my days at the conference.

I was only home from NYC for a couple of days when I left for Denver and another conference, where this time, I was one of the presenters and not just attendee. The conference was the week before the Democratic convention, so there was plenty to see. What fun! While the Dems were partying in Denver, I took a couple of extra days and traveled down to Colorado Springs to visit with my friends at U.S. Figure Skating and do some work on a couple of skating projects.

As for changes this year, the biggest one would be a change in my career direction. After working as a fundraiser for the last ten years, another position opened up at Hazelden that provided me with a great opportunity for growth. My new title is Marketing Director for Development and Alumni Relations. I now work for the Marketing Department, but my focus is still with Development. It was a great fit for everyone.

One of the fun parts of my job is that I'm charged with social media marketing. What does that mean, you ask. Social media is Internet based marketing utilizing Web sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and many more. So, when I'm hanging out on Facebook, I'm actually working. (Not stalking people like Kelly seems to think.)

Family Update:
Mom is doing well at Thorncrest and still able to stay involved with community activities, even without her own car (that's a whole 'nother story). Nationals really kept me away from being able to visit AL, so I'm trying to be the good daughter and visit more.
Sue & Paul are still in Mantorville and doing well. They'll celebrate 30 years of marriage this February. Chris and Jim are living in Wausau, Wisconsin; which is just too far away and we continue to hope that Jim gets transferred back to Minnesota soon. Dennis & Janet are still in New Prague and just returned from DisneyWorld. (just a little jealous)
As for "The Nine" Aaron (29) works for Thrivant Financial in Rochester (he dates Heather who fits in very well with our crazy family), Sarah (27) and Tim live in Buffalo, Josh (27) is in Albert Lea and loves coaching hockey. Casey (25) moved back from Hawaii this year and just accepted a job teaching at Rochester Community Technical College, Anne (25) and Derek are in Albert Lea and she's working at a bank while cutting hair part-time. John (24) finished up college this year and is a computer whiz kid. Kelly (22) only has a year & a half at Drake and she'll be done with pharmacy school. MJ(18) is in her senior year, but doing post-secondary education at Normandale Community College. and Riley(12)still lives with his parents and is still unemployed (but we're hoping that he'll find some motivation soon).

And now we come to the end of the letter. Oh, the pressure is on!! If I don't do a Top Ten list I will be mocked and ridiculed by those with high and possibly unrealistic expectations. (and you wonder why I don't finish this blog until Christmas Eve!)

The Top Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To in 2009

10. As social media becomes more main stream, I won't have to explain Twitter to every other person. (Am I going to have to explain it to you now?)

9. With Nationals over and my Masters Degree complete, I have no legit excuse for not getting to Albert Lea more often. (How is that a good thing???)

8. With Obama in the White House and Democrats in charge in both House & Senate, being a Democrat is finally cool again. It's been a long eight years.

7. With everyone complaining about their declining 401Ks, I'm thinking my lack of financial planning really wasn't a weakness.

6. January 20th ends an error.

5. With my 30 year class reunion this August, my motivation to get to the gym increases ten-fold. (perhaps I need a reunion every year)

4. Now that I've had surgery on both of my knees, I'm pretty sure I'm not due for any more "maintenance" for another ten years.

3. I'm sure that I'll be able to hit the 500 friends mark in Facebook in 2009 earning me a new set of steak knives.

2. With no skating commitments or school work to do, I should be able to finish my five-year bathroom project this year.

1. It will be the final year that I'll honestly be able to tell people I'm in my 40's.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. Stay safe and find joy in your every day life. I know that I do!

Mary Elizabeth