Known Only As A Child

Today would be my Dad’s 71st Birthday, he was slightly older than my Mom (15years). Days like today are always a little more difficult than a usual date, you know Holiday’s, Birthdays, Weddings, etc. are times when you think more about people missing that you wish were there. It’s crazy, it will be 9 years this November since my Dad passed away from cancer and though it gets easier as more time passes - some moments just strike you and it’s like…if only my Dad were here things would be different.

Losing my father at 18 is still the hardest thing to accept because I know I did not truly get to know him. I was a teenager and selfish, caring more about my friends and my boyfriend than getting to know my own father. I am grateful for the time I had with him, I could not have asked for a more loving and wonderful Father. But now being an adult, I always wonder what our relationship would be like today if he were still here and how he would have changed my life and who I’ve become.

My Dad is one of those people that if you met him, you were going to remember him. Tall, dark, curly hair, glasses and a smile that I happened to inherit. The more people I meet the more times I get, my God was your father Jay Uhlmansiek? It’s flattering to know people knew and loved him, but sometimes I get jealous at the fact they knew him as an adult, not a child. From everything I hear and from the man I remember, everyone liked him a lot and we happen to have a lot in common. My Dad was in marketing at a company formerly named Drackett for many years and retired when Drackett was sold in 1992. He crossed paths with so many people during his time there that if you were in marketing you had to know who he was! Well, following in my Dad’s footsteps I entered into marketing after college and actually even worked with some of his former colleagues. I learned that to know my Dad was to love him, he was a warm and genuine person, always there to help anyone or lead with advice. He was extremely intelligent, passionate and loved life. He was witty and sarcastic, always fun to be around and the life of the party.

I knew these things about him too, but I also knew he was loving, sacrificing for his children, advice giver, family man and everything the best father in the world could be. So I listen to people’s stories and sometimes I want to hear more and more and other days it just hurts for no gosh darn reason. I like to hear stories and know all the things I inherited from him and know the pieces I will forever hold of him. My Dad was a great man and I know I inherited his best features and personality. To me, he’s always the man in the blue robe and slippers, eating ice cream with Max and watching Unsolved Mysteries on a school night. But the stories I hear are insights into who he was as a friend, co-worker and husband and I am glad that those are things that I see in myself.

The Office Premiere

One of my favorite TV shows premieres tonight, The Office. Coincidentally the first episode is about weight loss and a corporate challenge.

See brief preview below and an episode preview. We have a lot of this go on at the website where I work (www.sparkpeople.com) and it's funny to see it on The Office.

For the first time, we see what happens over eight weeks of the summer, as a Dunder Mifflin weight loss initiative causes the branch to diet and become obsessed with their weight. Michael (Steve Carell) pursues a friendship with his new HR rep, Holly (Oscar nominee Amy Ryan). Jim (John Krasinski) misses Pam (Jenna Fischer) who attends art school in New York. Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Andy (Ed Helms) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) attend to unfinished business.

The End of Something Great and New Beginnings

For the past four years I have lived in an apartment building where we’ve seen people come and go, but there were four of us who have been there through it all. We’ve been through ups and downs, crazy neighbors, happy neighbors, foreign neighbors, break ups, make ups, parties, weddings, funerals and much much more. This past weekend we threw our going away party, “End of an Era” , and it was amazing as usual but a little sad as it marked the end of something great.

The four of us are pictured to the right: Jodie, Emmy, Sean and me. Of course we are dressed in ridiculous outfits that are symbols of the parties we had through the years. From the day Jodie and I moved in it was pure excitement and then meeting the neighbors made it even better. Sean was a transplant when Emmy’s roomie Katie got married, but we were soooo happy to have him.

We did everything from Carmen Electra Striptease, late night disco ball dancing, wine nights, ridiculous parties, patio chats, stalking and making up ridiculous stories about our neighbors, cooking dinners, ambulance chasing, watching awful TV and much more. Of course we will all remain friends and have wine nights and tons of laughter into the future. It’s very sad to say goodbye to something that was so great but I’m looking forward to a new beginning at my new place and for the first time really being on my own. I look forward to discovering who I am and learning more about me all on my own!!

Set In Our Ways...

is the name of my Tuesday night co-ed volleyball team. I play on a lot of team sports, but Tuesday night always provides lots of laughter over a few beers and of course sand volleyball.

Anyways, our summer league ended so my friend Christine and I were in charge of awards for the season. We decided to give everyone volleyball frames with them doing amazing shots - of course these were not serious.

Good times and great laughter. Above is a pic of the team and one of my favorite is below, a shot of our friend Josh - who always gets picked on. Maybe if he decided to show up a little earlier and more often he wouldn't get picked on?

8 Weddings and One Unexpected Insight on Love

Last summer it was wedding central, but this year I seem to have a bunch of them jam packed into the Fall season. I thought about this blog after my roommate, pictured with her husband Tom, got married and their relationship was catapulted into a level I never saw before. They have made each other laugh, scream, cry and many other emotions over the past 11 years but it all came together and made sense when they got married September 6, 2008.

So, with all this wedding hoopla I have spent quite some time talking about love and life with a lot of people and what the future holds for not only me, but them… I had a lot of the- who’s the right one conversations recently and one of the best ones and most surprising ones was with Tom just days before their wedding. After being with Jodie for 11 years, I asked him what it was that made him know she was “The One”. Simply put, Tom said, “I love her, she makes me laugh, we put up with each other’s vices, she’s Jodie – come on, who doesn’t love her and I have her!” And at that moment, I realized that Jodie and Tom have the love everyone wants – the one that has stood the test of time, through their breakups and make ups at the end of the day they are still madly in love with each other. Right then and there, I was the most happy I have been for Jodie in my entire life!

I have been living with Tom and Jodie for quite some time, Jodie 4 years and Tom unofficially 2 years (more so as their house get rehabbed). They might shoot me for writing about them, but nothing too much revealed. But living with them I went through a lot of their relationship and saw it all come together on their magical night. So, after thinking about it all and seeing how happy they were I truly believe what my Mom always tells me – “Love is crazy, love is passionate, love can be your worst enemy but if it’s the one no matter what you go through you go through it together and at the end of the day you can get into bed with them and want nothing more than to intertwine your feet and take in their scent.”

That simply put is my outlook on love. I am a lover and a giver, so being optimistic is what I do best in a relationship – I can be oh so angry and bitter one minute and love you the next. I want what Jodie has - a true soul mate. But, do I think we all have one soul mate –NO! I’ve been in love before and am in love now but each time it was slightly different. I love this quote from Elizabeth Gilbert, “ People think your soul mate is your perfect match and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, a person who shows you everything you are holding back. The person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you will meet in your life because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.”



Why do I love that quote??? Because I think it has truth to it. My past soul mates that have come in and out of my life showed me something, a side of me I may not have ever known. Forced me face things I didn’t want to, pushed me to scale a mountain in Mexico, allowed me to discover a new country and city on my own and much much more. Without them, I wouldn’t have done that- I wouldn’t have tore down my walls I built to protect myself from being hurt. They wouldn’t have allowed me to let new and undiscovered aspects of my life in. They showed me true pain and pleasure all at once.

I have no idea when/which soul mate is the one – and a billion people can give you advice on love and you just don’t listen to it until you are ready…so maybe it’s all about being ready who knows. For Tom and Jodie it took 11 years but they are more happy now then I have ever seen them! I do know I want a love that challenges me and makes me laugh, but at the end of the day it’s just us is this hectic world and I wouldn’t want anything more…and to Jodie and Tom who have found that!

PS. The bear is Gilby, their baby that has been with them since the beginning. He's sort of a phenomenon.

Online Friendships Saves Babies Life

The video below is amazing and shows the friendships that can forge between the simplistic social networking we all do online via social networking sites like Facebook.

If you watch only the first two minutes of the video you will get the picture and probably have a little softspot awakened in your heart. These two women met through www.babyfit.com, a sister site to the website I focus my efforts on, www.sparkpeople.com

It's amazing that two woman on totally opposite sides of the world can mean more to each other than they could ever have imagined! This story has been featured many times in many places and will be featured tonight on Inside Edition so tune in!

Flip Flops & Skyline

I play on a softball team every Thursday night, in fact I am actually the coach. Sometimes I ask them totally random poll questions I wonder about or sometimes ask them just to get a good response. So I made today one of those days all because of the following:

One of my co-worker's wear this shirt that the guys in the office call his "Towel Shirt". This is becuase it is made of a terri cloth like material that looks like you could just throw it on when you get outta the shower. Also, we get a lot of product to try at work and received these flip flops that are somewhat stylish but provide a work out when you walk. So I thought, great this is an opportunity for random poll question day.

So below are the questions with some great answers I received back. So thanks to the team and thanks to those who really know me, and know I can't resist a great set of calves:)

Would you rather be forced to….

1. Eat Montgomery Inn Rib’s Sauce on every meal for the next week
2. Eat only Skyline Chili for a month

Would you rather wear…

1. An article of clothing that doubles as a towel
2. Shoes that have elevated soles that provided a work out when you walk (which promotes great calves)

The winners are:

Skyline and Shoes....below are the reasons why:

"Montgomery Inn Rib’s sauce on every meal because I don’t think anyone’s digestive system can handle a full month of Skyline" Damon

"An article of clothing that doubles as a towel, because the elevated sole on the shoe as a workout theory is a bunch of bunk. Or else every woman that wears high heels would have killer calves"Damon

"Shoes that provide my calves a workout – only because I know how much nice calves turn you on sweetheart ; )" Keith

"I think I will go for the towel shirt. That would be awfully comfortable" Michael

"Montgomery Inn sauce and towel, I'm all about the comfort" Chelsey

"Montgomery Inn Sauce, just add a little hot sauce and I’m good to go" Megan

"We all know how much we dig on some good calves" Megan

"I would fart even more if I always ate skyline" anonymous

"I already own a teri-cloth shirt. They are way comfortable" Jim

"I would like both a towel shirt and the shoes as I never have any clean towels and honestly need to work on my calves" Andy

"I don’t think I would really wear a towel shirt. If you come up with a hat that doubles as a pillow, let me know" Dan

"While neither could or should be considered fashionable, I could maybe get away with platform shoes. I vote for the calves" Kylee

So the answers are out folks and this poll is complete. I'm going to have to agree with the team on question #1, I would go ahead and eat Skyline for a month. WIth the ever expanding menu I think I could always find a different option to not get too burnt out to quick. For #2, I will have to go with the shirt. I always have a hard time getting out of my towel when I get out of the shower, the shirt is a good substitution. However, I do love me a great set of calves on a man...you gotta have nice calves or I am not even going to consider you as an option!

Dragons Poo Fat Free Ice Cream

So, did that title catch your attention? Yep, that's me with totally random thoughts and ideas. But, in my quest to achieve the perfect body I have become to come across tons of workout myths and dieting tips that crack me up - so I made one up myself, dragons poo fat free ice cream!

I mean I love the idea of eating lemon, maple syrup and water for a week straight, but on top of pancakes, chips, bread and all sorts of yummy stuff. These diets are horrible for you!!! Not only does your body get totally out of whack, but you have little to no motivation to get off the couch!

The best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is eat right, excecise and be aware of your own health. To shed a few pounds just cut a few things out, about 3,500 calories = 1 pound. Below is a link to ways to shed a few calories without really even thinking about it.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1183

I'm trying to be more conscious about what I eat and increase my workouts, even 10 extra minutes a day helps out. So don't listen to anyone telling you some crazy Hollywood fad diet will last forever, the only way to maintain a healthy weight level and keep it off is your lifestyle. A diet is a quick fix but it needs to be a lifestyle change to stick with it. You can't live of 1,000 calories a day for the rest of your life, so go about it the healthy way.

Or...if you want purchase your very own dragon and make millions selling fat free ice cream that taste good:)