Something Blue

I co-hosted a fabulous shower at my house this weekend in honor of my dear friend. The theme: "Something Blue".  We had such a great time with the Tiffany inspired decorations. I just love any party where you can go to extremes with girl-y details and giggle about newlyweds! Best of wishes to the future Mr. & Mrs. C! 

Thank you Touch of Toni for the flower arrangements and decorating touches!

Special thanks to Georgetown Cupcakes (our favorite!) for these delicious treats!

Whats up Doc?

Congratulations to my baby sister on her graduation from Veterinary School.  She was officially "hooded" on Saturday, May 12th, and took her oath as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).  It was quite a moving ceremony. I learned a great deal about the symbolism of academic regalia apparel and the pomp and circumstance for the proper protocol, titles, and practices.  All of which made me beam even more for all that she has evolved to be through so much hard work. This is not a degree that is conferred lightly. 


My entire family came together in Florida for the weekend to celebrate.  We toasted her accomplishment at a reception, in her honor, Saturday night.  We also enjoyed a little family fun time at the gorgeous Orlando World Center which served as an awesome venue for the big event. 


I couldn't be more elated about this huge milestone. My sister has known she wanted to be a vet since she was 6 and has been working toward this goal her whole life.  Her journey has been an amazing one from her under grad at our Alma Matter UF to living on a tropical island for 2 years.  After all he hard work, she deserves this more than anyone I know! She is an talented Doctor and an amazing woman! 

Leadership

After 9 months, I graduated from Leadership Southern Maryland, along with 34 of my esteemed classmates.  What did I learn on this amazing journey? Each program a new lesson on complex issues affecting our community.  Multi-culturalism, the Chesapeake watershed and environmental impacts, regional health and human services issues, education challenges, economic impacts and homelessness and so much more about our tri-county area. However, the most importantly I learned a lot about myself and the differences I can make for the greater good.  It is each of our responsibilities as a Leader to use our resources, strengths, and energies to make a difference in our communities and our world. 

And. It. Starts. Now.    

I have made a few personal commitments (bucket-list type stuff) that I plan to follow up on.  More about that later. For now, I will leave you with:

18 Lessons in Leadership

1. Leadership means sometimes people are mad at you.

2. When they stop bringing you problems, you've stopped leading.

3. Be wary of experts who posses more data than judgement.

4. Challenge the pros - learn from them, but don't fear them.

5. Never neglect the details, especially when others are.

6. Be bold. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

7. Question reality - scratch the surface of all assumptions.

8. Organizations don't accomplish anything. Invest in and empower individuals. 

9. Organizational charts/titles only label people. Go with performance and teams. 

10. Keep ego and position separate. Every job gets obsolete. 

11. Don't chase fads. Sometimes an unapologetic directive beats paralyzing discussion. 

12. Perpetual optimism is powerful. Cynicism is destructive. 

13. In employees look for intelligence, judgement, and the ability to anticipate. 

14. Great leaders are great simplifiers who can articulate goals we understand. 

15. If you are 40-70% sure, go with your gut. Taking no action has risk, too.  

16. Put power where outcomes are produced, not where they are measured.

17. Have fun, take leave, be with family - you'll live longer and better.

18. Be prepared to be lonely. The buck really does stop here. 

The Big Easy

Once a year ,my besties and I pick a spot somewhere in the US to spend a weekend of pure girlie nonsense and shenanigans. We did just that last weekend in The Big Easy, and NOLA may never be the same. I just love these women, they are like home to me :-)