The holiday season was a complete blur for me. Even though I did not host my annual holiday party, the season was still abuzz with celebrations, events and festivities (wait are those all the same? LOL) Looking back I can’t even imagine how I would have pulled off the party because I was quite the busy bee! I had the holiday off though, and I was able to recharge which allowed this host to be a very grateful and gracious guest.
So although I don’t have a fancy pantsy holiday party to give you all the juicy deets about, I still wanted to let you in on some other activities I was a part of over the holidays. Let’s get to it…
If you’re a frequent reader of my blog then you probably know how much I adore my hometown Long Beach California , so it was a no brainer when my best friend Alex asked me to be his date to the wedding of our Mayor Robert Garcia to his long time love and partner Matthew Mendez. I’d hung out with Matthew a few times before and instantly felt connected to him. He is warm, charming, funny, incredibly smart and kind, so celebrating his union was at the top of my list of things to do in December. It was also an opportunity to celebrate my Mayor who has done so much for my beloved city and continues to make Long Beach a wonderful place to live.
Their wedding was absolutely beautiful! We walked into the beautiful First Congregational Church of Christ in Downtown Long Beach to the sounds of a live Christmas music singing duo and promptly took our seats. Let me tell you, the “who’s who” of Long Beach came out in droves. Dignitaries, politicians and activists were all on hand to celebrate a truly monumental moment for our city.
The service really spoke to who Robert and Matthew are, I loved the beautiful words spoken by Minister Elena Larson who was as eloquent as she was inspiring . Following the ceremony me and over 700 guests were treated to a champagne and dessert reception at the Long Beach Museum of Art under the night sky.
It was a”Purrfect Wedding” which was also the specially named ice-cream flavor that we noshed on in honor of their orange tabby cat. All proceeds of sales from the ice cream went to the Little Lion Foundation a local nonprofit whose focus is pulling orphaned newborn kittens from shelters, providing neonatal and medical care for them and finding them loving homes, and educating the public about how they can do the same.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is me on stage with Steve Harvey.
So while I was going back and forth in my head about whether or not to host my annual holiday party, I ran across an Instagram post looking for people trying to curb their holiday spending. I thought what an awesome opportunity to get some tips on how I could get a handle on what a huge expense this party has become for me over the holidays. So I sent in a video detailing what I was dealing with and I was literally on stage talking to Steve Harvey and financial planner Lynn Richardson that next week! It was a whirlwind ya’ll! To be honest I thought maybe Steve might take pity on me and fund the party himself but instead he laughed at how extra this party has become and gave me 3 months of free financial advice (Thanks Steve I know I gotta pump the breaks a bit;)
The whole experience was amazing and I the staff at the show were so incredibly nice and accommodating! Lets just say, this won’t be your last time seeing me on your t.v.!
While celebration was the theme of the holiday the celebration closest to my heart was the dedication and naming a Health Center in honor of my cousin Daniel “Skip” Gibson. Skip as we lovingly called him, was the Resident Coordinator at the Carmalitos Housing Community for 8 years before we lost him to Cancer October 6, 2014. Paying tribute to the impact he made on the residents during his years working there, they named their new health center in his honor and invited his family to the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Political figure after political figure spoke about my cousin and the positive influence he had over the community and its residents, they told stories about how hard he worked to bring much-needed programs to The Carmalitos and how he wasn’t easily won over by empty promises but demanded they put their money where their mouths were.
Skip was just one person, but was such a force of nature. He came from the same neighborhood he serviced and pulled himself out of his own adversities and never forgot where he came from, He connected to the community from a place of compassion and understanding and was the perfect example of how one person can truly make a difference in this world simply by showing up! I am so proud of my cousin and know he was smiling down on us. Our laughed about how he was probably getting a big kick out of the big to-do that was being made over him and was relishing in all of the accolades because as much as Skip loved helping others he also didn’t back away from the recognition he knew he deserved 🙂
So what does one do when they head out to brunch and see their favorite blogger enjoying a meal with friends at a nearby table? Well if you’re me and you have no shame, you interrupt said brunch and fan girl over how much you love said blogger, which is just what I did when I met the Thembi from The Shade Room. She was so sweet and was open to doing a full on photo shoot with me! Seriously my favorite run in over the holidays!
I am SUCH a proponent of the vision board, I recently shared a board I created back in 2013 and realize that every single thing from that vision board had come to fruition in some way by 2019. So it was a no-brainer that I create a new vision board for 2019, however I did this one with a twist!
As opposed to combing through pages and pages of magazines, I signed up for a vision board workshop that was led by my best friend and fellow life coach Jaimie. Over a light nosh with wine and champagne Jaimie walked attendees through a fun exercise that helped us create a singular and more distinct vision for the year that was then followed up with the creation of a vision cork board. Instead of using just magazine clippings and poster board, we were given cool quotes, scrap-booking materials, a mirror and tea lights to adorn our cork boards with and bring that vision to life. The whole exercise was just the charge I needed heading into the new year.
Our first holiday as a couple was SO nerve-wracking! Because the holidays are such a special time for me, I wanted everything to be perfect for LaJon, Logan and I. Looking back I realize that I put way too much pressure on myself and next year will be totally different in that department. I go over the top when it comes to Christmas and I am so thankful that LaJon was accepting of my Buddy The Elf shenanigans. Lets just say I see why people travel on the holiday, it’s probably to get away from people like me! Nevertheless, I have the best of intentions and just want to see everyone happy so it was all worth it to see smiles on my families faces after they opened my perfectly selected and planned gifts 🙂 For two full days (Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas), LaJon and I stayed home, watched movie after movie, ate and drank like the scale didn’t matter and just enjoyed one another. It was just what I needed.
So I know everyone is back on the grind after coming off the holiday season. I came back full steam and presented at my companies National Sales Meeting which is a conference that occurs at the beginning of every year where we bring together our sales force and provide them with training on new products and developmental tools going into the new year. The whole experience was HUGE win for me! I have wanted to speak at a conference for years and although I’ve been training for over 10 years, I’d never gotten the opportunity. Well that all changed and I can now add “Conference Presenter” to my list of accomplishments. The months leading up to the conference were filled with anxiety for me because I realize that I have been really lacking in the confidence department lately. I mean don’t get me wrong, I always seem to be dealing with some form of confidence issues but after some huge changes at work, it’s been worse than ever! Speaking at the conference really helped to gain some much-needed confidence for the new year. It was true success and I was given great feedback from both the President of my company and the President of our Sales Division.
So, how was the holidays for you guys? I’d love to hear the highs and lows in the comments below!