TSM Score Card

I love where I work...especially the people I work with. I've had several jobs throughout my lively 22 years and from selling lawn care on neighborhood door steps to living the high life as a waitress, I must say it's the people and their passion for success at TSM that make the day worth it. I love working in an environment that promotes success through ideas and continuous learning.

My "office"/cube is surrounded by the lovely sales team who never fail to make me laugh even if I'm not included in the joke or conversation, which is 99.9% of the case. Now since I'm constantly surrounded by their 100+ cold calls per day or gchat snickers, I decided to keep a track of Smiles from TSM:

- Frequent Bieber conversations/obsession

- Ellen's delicious homemade lunches
- Sales Team gchat giggles (this could be a frown since I'm not included...but it still makes me smile)
- How DW always posts Stage 3s and Proposals in advance
- How RD always requests Stage 3s and Proposals 1 hour before they're due
- I sit behind a trust fund baby
- How loud it gets when everyones on the phone (I think I know everyone's sales pitch by heart)
- TSM team work
- TSM sticky notes
- How the sales team always describes themselves as tenacious
- How the sales team always invents new products that we supposedly already provide
- Cafe Luna, Square Rabbit, Morning Times
- Sneezes that span a 3 foot radius

Stay tuned for more TSM smiles from Callie!

Did Somebody Say Vacation?

So in the midst of endlessly working my senior year, my summer (if you can call it that), and then starting a full-time marketing job the following week after my internship and summer job, I think it’s obvious I need a vacation. All I could envision on my drive home tonight after work was how I couldn’t wait to sleep this weekend. Sleep, sleep, and more sleep are on my agenda! Oh yeah and that 5 mile run, but that’s another story.

But I don't want to sleep my spare time away, I want to start planning trips! After mine and Justin’s trip to Chicago this past winter, I want to go back for more. Maybe a Cubs game, a concert in Millennium Park, or a drink in the city. You name it, I want to do it.

Last Chicago Trip: Burrrrrr!!!!

Next Chicago Trip: Concerts in the park? Yes please!

Since I’m already daydreaming about realistic vacations, I want to go ahead and start planning for the big ones. The ones that I actually need to save money for over a few months. Here are some long-term vacations spots that I hope to visit over the years…

Vacation #1 – Ireland

I’m in love with the rolling green hills, the floral shouldered roads, the ocean, the luck of the Irish! Maybe I’ll even see a leprechaun and find a pot of gold : )

Vacation #2 – St. John

This was where I was born and grew up for eight years. I have been dying to go back and revisit Hawksnest beach and Cinnamon Bay. I want to go snorkeling and visit the shallow coral reefs where Julia and I played Pocahontas. I want to dance to music outside the bar Skinney Legs and remember what the simple pleasures are in life. I want to slow down.

Vacation #3 – Greece

It doesn’t get more beautiful than Greece! Those beautiful white plastered homes decorating the rocky edge of the Mediterranean Sea are a dream. I couldn’t imagine owning one and waking up to that view every day - Heaven. I think I’ll eat baklava for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I’ll watch the sunset under the Parthenon with my Greek mitera (mom). I guess this will be a mother-daughter trip : )

Vacation #4 – Brazil

Two years ago Justin mapped out of every detail of every place he wants to visit in Brazil. From zip lines to the marvelous city of Rio de Janeiro, he has his day-by-day itinerary set in stone. I mainly want to go on this because I can’t wait to start taking real vacations together and experiencing new cultures and ideas together.

Vacation #5 – Africa

I can’t decide what country yet, but I know I’ve always wanted to go. Ideally, I want to go on a mission trip and make a difference in some small way. I feel this trip would open my eyes and soul so much and leave me wanting to move back permanently. Hey, anything can happen : )

There are numerous other locations I want to visit such as China, Japan, Israel, India, France, Italy, Costa Rica, and so many more! But I guess its one thing at a time. Chicago first, maybe a little get-away weekend, and then bring on the good stuff : )

Silk Blouse Secret Revealed!

Is that expensive, but oh so beautiful, silk blouse you bought now a stained blouse after a fun night out with friends? Well have no fear; I have a secret for you.

Add water! Gently rub cold water onto the stained spot and wah-lah! Hang it to dry and your stain will be there no more.

About 4 months ago I spilled a drink on a new silk blouse, took it to the dry cleaner who said they were unable to remove the spot, and then finally after looking at it hanging in my closet, stains still intact, I remembered this trick and it worked! I actually wore it to work yesterday. So now you know the secret. Share it with your friends!

My World = Runner's World

When I get really excited about something I find important I begin to take on obsession like characteristics over it. It consumes my spare time, my conversations with people; it basically turns into my world. This new obsession of mine is not an opinion or an idea I want to push on anyone, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now I can’t wait any longer – I want to run a half-marathon.

Ever since I can remember I have always loved to run. I remember when I was six years old, I was playing in the playground and I asked a fellow classmate to teach me how to run faster. His advice? Pump my arms. When I was in third grade the teacher made me run with the boys so I would have competition. Middle school – track, high school – long runs to stay in good condition for sports, and then there came college. Dun, Dun, Dun. Oh my how four years flies and the only time I thought of running was about two weeks before bathing suit season.

My New Year’s resolution for every year since I was 14 has been to run three to five times a week. Every year I started off strong or maintained it in spurts throughout the year but would get lost in the hustle and bustle of life. But this year I’ve actually been able to maintain it by changing my mindset. What is my new mindset approach to exercise? I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I want to be 40 plus years old and still be able to run five miles.

I do admit running does get old after you do it four times a week with the same route. The benefit of Chapel Hill is that it is so friendly to runners, and it has numerous side walks all over to create new routes. But other than new routes I try to incorporate other forms of cardio and exercise. Something as simple as using the elliptical once a week to attending a cycling class can make a difference. I participated in the YMCA’s Tour de France cycling class a couple weeks ago and it kicked my butt, but I loved it! It was 34 miles in two hours and it mocked the route the bikers in the race were actually doing at the time. Now I want to take up cycling on the side!

Though I do love changing up my workout sessions and making exercise a lifestyle, in the end you have to find what works for you. My personal success has come from making exercise a lifestyle and incorporating it throughout my day. I do this by keeping my sneakers outside of my closet as a reminder that I’m going to be running later. I read numerous articles and blogs about healthy recipes, fitness advice, and so much more. I don’t do this as a chore either, I love it! These past couple of months I’ve been reading up on fitness tips in Fitness magazine, Shape magazine, and now my new favorite RUNNER’S WORLD. I’m obsessed with Runner’s World magazine! My walking up stairs buddy, and more importantly friend at work, Carol, gave me this crucial inside scoop. Let’s just say I stayed up all last night watching video after video of all these great running tips, training tips, fitness assessment tips, even the Runner’s World challenge - You name it, I watched it.

Well this year I’m finally back into routine and I’ve been sticking to my 2010 New Year’s resolution pretty good. Granted I’ve had my relapses, but I’m ready to push myself and make myself work for something. My principal of making this a lifestyle is the key to my success. I want to be healthy and lead an active life. I don’t desire to be thin and look like the women in the fashion industry. When I think of them I just want to eat. However, what does motivate me is the idea of being fit, being completely in-tune with my body and being strong. I’m in love with the women featured in Runner’s World magazine. They aren’t just in shape, they don’t work out to look good in a bathing suit – they’re motivated, they’re strong mentally and physically – they have reached their body’s ultimate potential. They have mastered one of the hardest elements of fitness, which is to be completely in sync with your mind and body. This is who I want to be.

This is my ultimate favorite picture!

When I Loved Myself Enough

You know those moments in life when you can just feel everything is changing? Knowing that after this moment your life and who you are as a person will be different? It's one of those events where you know it may be tough right now, but you can feel yourself becoming stronger, evolving, and becoming the person you want to be. And sometimes in those moments you question yourself, you need a pick-me-up to help you find yourself in the midst of all the chaos.

Well my pick-me-up last summer was two books - Eat.Pray.Love and When I Loved Myself Enough. These books still rest on my nightstand and I occasionally flip through my dog-eared, pen-marked pages when in time of reflection before bed. Both books have helped me find my inner-strength and taught me life lessons that I continue to reflect on when I find myself in need of a little wisdom. These words helped me understand my strengths, my weaknesses, my wants, my goals, and most importantly myself.

My favorite quote from When I Loved Myself Enough is:

"When I loved myself enough
I quit settling for too little."

I have soooo many more, but this one inspired me the most and sums up the transformation I went through during this life changing stage.

The other night as I was lying in bed reading my cards from Justin, I felt inspired to write in my journal my own quotes about when I knew I loved myself enough. Here are a few that depict me...

When I loved myself enough
The important things and people in my life became clear, and I realized what matters most is myself and the people who make me a better person.

When I loved myself enough
I began to challenge myself physically and mentally because I was stronger with this love.

When I loved myself enough
I was able to love him with my full heart and I wasn't afraid.

When I loved myself enough
I quit worrying about how much I want to make and focused on doing what makes me happy.

When I loved myself enough
I consciously removed the people and things who bring me down, and I looked to those who bring me up.

When I loved myself enough
I cried when I wanted to instead of smiling.

When I loved myself enough
My heart felt strong, my mind felt able, and I felt ready for change. For the first time, I welcomed it.

People always say you can't love someone else until you truly love yourself. And for me it wasn't until this past year when I could finally feel what truly loving myself felt like. I would find myself jumping on the inside and saying to myself in my mind "I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy." I could feel I was heading in the right direction. For the first time I was so in love with myself and my decisions that I was able to experience what true love felt like in a relationship when it approached me.

And now I'm going through another change, but this one is different. I'm beginning a new chapter in my life - the Young Professional chapter. I'm moving out of my cozy college town environment to a life in the city and beginning my first big girl job. Normally I don't adapt well to change, but this time I'm excited. I'm excited to have a strong relationship, strong friendships, and a strong family in my life here to share these moments with me. I'm excited to challenge myself in my career and begin working my way up in the world. Most of all I'm excited to begin experiencing all the dreams I've been waiting to fulfill, the American dream events that will eventually fall into place, and to finally become the person I am destined to be.

A Smile a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

“Smiling is infectious,

You can catch it like the flu.

Someone smiled at me today,

And I started smiling too.”

~Author Unknown

I’ve found that the key to life, friendships, relationships, opportunities, stress, happiness, and so much more hangs on the simplicity of a smile.

A smile makes somebody else’s day a little bit easier. A smile makes you feel warm inside. I smile makes others around you happy. So why not smile?

People often say I smile more than anyone else they know and it’s not because I’m always happy, but it’s because it’s how I want to make others feel. I want people I encounter to know I care about them and to feel positive energy when they’re with me. This principle of mine is also supported by studies that found between 60 and 70 percent of all human communication is derived from nonverbal behavior. Body language is powerful, and it’s a simple gesture that says a lot about a person.

Not only is smiling contagious, but it also improves your health! It boosts your immune system because you are more relaxed, lowers your blood pressure, releases endorphins, and best of all it helps you stay positive. So smile away, it’s the best prescription you’ll ever get.

Here are a few people who give me a reason to smile

My mother - she smiles so much she now has permanent "laugh lines"

My sister - she stands up for those who need a voice and listens to her heart

Justin - He makes my heart smile :)

Strokin' Stephy! - Always positive, always a great friend

B Mon - she's the funniest, craziest, and best friend to have

YaYa - Because we're always there for each other.

It takes a lot of work from the face to let out a smile, but just think what good smiling can bring to the most important muscle of the body... the heart. ~Author Unknown