9. Outdoors

Stowe, Vermont, is one of the coolest places to be outside in the winter. It's a great town to go for a sleigh ride or even take on a bit of snow shoeing or cross country skiing. Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak are great mountains to downhill ski or snowboard.  As long as I'm all bundled up, I could certainly spend a few days outside. I also love coming inside afterward and warming up by the fire. The heat of the fire and a warm hot chocolate is a great way to end a cold, freezing day.

8. Breakfast

There's nothing quite like a bowl of Lucky Charms in the morning. I'm a big fan of how the marsh mellows make the milk sweet. Throw in a banana and a few cups of coffee, and that's the best breakfast to have most mornings.

Occasionally, bacon, egg and cheese on a hard roll is the way to go. However, hard rolls are harder to come by in Kentucky than in New York and New England.

7. Shopping

Shopping from home is marvelous. I so much prefer things being delivered to me than going out to the store. Maybe it's just the introvert part of me taking control. I was hooked on Wal-Mart, because the stores are marvelous here in Kentucky. However, I got a Kindle for last Christmas, and my mom asked me to create an Amazon wish list. While I was creating the list, I realized that I did not have curtains. Because I always forgot my window measurements when I went to the store, I just measured the windows and ordered curtains on Amazon. I was hooked.

6. Favorite Season

All the seasons are great, but Spring is my favorite. I love how everything begins to warm up, and I can take my coat off and just have a good time. It's great to see the buds and flowers appear on the trees and flowers.  It's so cool driving down the highway and seeing the light green show up on the sides of the road.

5. Family

My parents came down to visit for Christmas. We had a great time and visited some more family in the area. The last time I saw them, was my Dad's birthday. It happened to fall on my week off from school, so I traveled to Connecticut to spend some time with friends and family, there. The picture above was taken in downtown Lexington, where we tried Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and had a great meal.

Pictured here are my sister and her fiance, at his parents house. They're both accomplished doctors and have huge hearts.

4. Favorite Drink

Since before I can remember, I've been drinking Tropicana Orange Juice. I've switched to the calcium added kind, lately. I also have a liking for coffee and the occasional micro brew.

3. Where I work

For a number of years, writing has been the secret focus of my work or at least my hobby on the side. The image to the left was drawn by my friend Carin, and I hope to have it made into a tattoo someday. I've been doing some editing on the side, while I go to school. I am very interested in Lean Six Sigma, and I hope  to find a career at a vacation resort utilizing that skill. I am just social enough that I find it difficult to lock myself away and write for long hours, one after another.

I like consulting style work, process improvement, because it allows me to offer up my ideas and let me move onto the next project. I always like to be learning and doing new things. My current internship / Project Connect with Ashland is a great example of moving from one project to another. I've certainly enjoyed my time there, and I continue to enjoy working on the projects that the company passes onto our team.

2. Weather

The weather has been quite cold here in Kentucky. For quite a while, the temperature kept fighting back up to 60, but it has been freezing here for a few days. No precipitation has fallen, which is a good thing. We've just had a little bit of wind.

1. Myself

My friend Christine posted this to my Facebook page, and I decided to accept the challenge. Each day, I am going to post on a topic above, in numerical order. It's a great way to start a blog, and I'm very excited about getting back to writing. Back in November, I wrote a large portion of a novel, which was roughly inspired to my trip to Kentucky two years ago. The novel still needs completion and a significant amount of editing.

Currently, I am attending the accelerated MBA program at the University of Kentucky. I will be graduating in May. Currently, I'm working towards my Lean Six Sigma greenbelt with the help of the training staff at LeanCor. My project involves working with an Ashland warehouse here in Kentucky. I am leading a team of four other people to specifically meet the warehouse's supply chain needs.

Previous projects that I have worked on through the MBA program include, working with the Kentucky World Trade Center in regards to Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and working with Valvoline, a subsidiary of Ashland, on a project. I enjoyed learning many things through both projects, as well as from the classes at the University.

To my surprise, I have excelled in Accounting, Finance and Statistics in the program. My undergraduate degree was in English Literature at the University of Connecticut. I later earned an Certificate in Editing from New York University and eventually went on to work at Reader's Digest. I moved back to Connecticut and worked in the ING Retirement Services' call center, moved up through the organization, and earned my (no longer active) Series 6, Series 63 and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor Certificate. I also joined Toastmasters and greatly improved my public speaking ability. I eventually took a position on the Kentucky account. As that particular position did not work out, I decided to join the MBA program, here at U.K., to redirect and restart my professional life.