Graduation

I completed my MBA with a concentration in Global Management in December of 2009 but the commencement ceremony wasn't until June 25th.  I had the opportunity to go home to Arizona for the commencement ceremony.  Not only did I get to spend time with family and friends, but I got to enjoy the Arizona weather which I miss A LOT!  The ceremony was long (especially for the little ones) but the main speaker was Dr. Condoleezza Rice!  I've admired her for a while and so it was extremely awesome that she was the speaker at my graduation.

Then the family went to dinner at Reb Lobster afterwards and thanks to Ruth, no one had to pay anything!  She had giftcards that took care of the whole bill...Isn't she awesome?!?!  It was wonderful to have my family there with me on such a special day.  I have such an amazing family!

Catching up...

It is amazing how quickly time passes!  After Ruth moved to the valley to live with me, we decided to attend University 6th ward.  It was one of the best decisions we ever made because we made friends with some of the most AMAZING women I've ever met!  We spent a lot of time together, making some amazing memories, having some wonderful talks and becoming better people.

When I went home for graduation, we had the opportunity to get together for dinner to catch up.  It had been three years since all of us were able to get together, which is WAY too long!  But we had such a wonderful time catching up and making another wonderful memory together.

Love you girls!

Preparation

I am preparing to go home for a week...you'd think it'd be as simple as buy a ticket and pack a bag.  Right? Well...not when you are living overseas! 

I have to go through clothes and get rid of ones that don't fit me any more (but this is the good kind of "don't fit" as they are too big!) :) 

Then I have to go through what other things I need to purchase when I go home that I can't get here.  Don't get me wrong, you can buy a lot of things here, but they are typically 2 to 3 times more expensive than you'd buy in the States.  Why get 1/2 or 2/3 less when I can just shop like crazy when I go home? ;) 

Then there is actually planning of what I will do when I go home, lots of family and friends to see, shopping, and just laying out by the pool and soaking up some sun because even though it's supposed to be summer here...the sun hasn't come out very much!   

 

Oh...and one other thing...GRADUATION! :)  As many of you know, I finished my MBA/GM in December and the graduation ceremony is June 25th.  I am so excited...only snafu so far...my cap, gown & hood STILL hasn't arrived...ordered it 2 months ago and it was supposedly shipped three weeks ago...and I only have two more mail days before I leave, so keep your fingers crossed that it comes or I am going to end up with two!  And let's face it, who needs two of those?

1st Tea Party in Latvia :)

Tea parties are a tradition of our family and when friends hear that, they wanted me to have one here.  Well, I finally had one!  The weather had been cold, so I thought "might as well have one!"  I invited four friends over and we had a tea party.

Everyone loved the food...yummy!  And everyone loved my favorite tea "Bengal Spice".  They had such a good time...they said they can't wait until the next one! :)

Zelta Keda...or Golden Sneaker

Ok, so I planned better for the 15KM race Zelta Keda or Golden Sneaker and actually ran it!

So, I've been running since January in preparation for the marathon.  My goal was to run the 15km Zelta Keda in 1 hr 30 minutes...

I beat my goal! :) I actually ran the 15km in 1 hr 24 minutes and 34.30 seconds!

Running...or more like jogging :)

In my quest to stay healthy, I have found a new enjoyment in running.  It was a beautiful spring day in Washington, DC that I realized that I was classified as a runner when I looked down and saw that I had run 7 miles!  Plus the fact that I felt like I could keep going, which is a good thing because I had to turn around and get all the way back! :)

I had been training since January for the Riga Marathon which is held in May.  Well...silly me, I didn't plan well the day before the race and spent the entire day outside in the sun and didn't drink enough water.  So I woke up the day of the marathon dehydrated!  Needless to say, I didn't run the marathon that day because I didn't want to pass out during the race and be taken to a Latvian hospital.

So now the goal is to be prepared to run in the Valmiera Marathon (another city in Latvia) in September, planning better for the day before! ;) 


As part of the preparation, I am running Saturday in the Golden Sneaker 15k, which is 9.32 miles.  I'll be sure to take my camera to document the race!

Wish me luck!