Here is how today went:
Up early to get Addy up a little early so I can help her wake up, get dressed and see her before I leave. Out the door to carpool with my girl Courtney by 7:20am. Starbucks on the run. Bargaining all day long. During breaks and caucuses on the phone and e-mail working proposals, issues, etc. Wrap at 6:00. Home to let dogs out, while cleaning up e-mail. Back in the car to go get Addy from parents house, making work calls on the way. Get home at 8:00pm realize I gotta go back in to work. Put Addy to bed and head back out. Home for the night at 9:30pm.
Needless to say sometimes I am tired. But I am so lucky to love what I do, work with great people and get exciting opportunities to challenge myself.
To add icing on the cake this year I was one of the winners of the Governor's Leadership Award. I still can't believe it. I was so incredibly excited and nervous!! I've never won anything like this before . . . me? That is crazy!?!
Last Friday Scott and I got to go to the Governor's Mansion with the Secretary of the Department for a luncheon. I was soooooooo nervous. At one point I actually told someone that I wanted to get hit by a car, not enough to be seriously injured, but just injured enough to get out of going. Seemed like a plausible excuse. :)
Of course once I got there I had fun. We had a wonderful lunch, met the Governor and got pictures in the fancy mansion. I even knew a couple of the other honorees and their families. All of our executives were there and Paula was so gracious in helping me to feel comfortable.
I was totally intimidated. They took a ton of pictures . . . yuck. I should get to see them at some point, cringe. There was actually a schedule we were given ahead of time reagrding all the different pictures. And when the Governor arrived it was very official with a countdown for her arrival. We could here the staff announcing to one another "and the Governor will arrive in 4 minutes, in 3 minutes, etc." Needless to say this is very different from my every day life. :)
Scott and I got a picture in the mansion dining room:
Department of Transportation Secretary, Paula Hammond and I (it was so nice that she took time from her busy schedule to come and spend time with us):
We tried to do an artful arrangement (the tea cup has the state seal on it, we ate off china that all had the seal on it!):
Can you see the lovely red and yellow velvety rose? So beautiful! And here is my beautifully wrapped package. I didn't want to open it. I have to remember this simple wrapping that looks so fancy for a gift in the future. ( I would give anything to be able to tie a bow that nice.)
I can't say enough about the impressive award winners we met at the lunch. They've kept us safe by creating new ways of capturing drunk drivers, saved millions of dollars with innovations, and even protected our coast from oil spills with heavy regulations and monitoring. It was really humbling to see all the amazing state employees out there working so hard for the citizens of Washington. And I can now say that during my explore Washington year, I even got to explore the Governor's mansion. :)
