Good-Bye to Hospitality

Today was the day; my final day as a hotel employee! 
Very bittersweet.  I can't leave the last 7 years of my life without a little ode to hospitality and events.  It is where I met some of my best friends and had some of the most fun times.  So without sharing too much incriminating information, here are

My Top 5 Most Memorable Moments of Hospitality

(Drum roll please)

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#5 - While working as an events planner for 84 Lumber Company, I was responsible for planning the Annual Ten Year recognition Weekend at Nemacolin Woodlands.  The crazy 4-day affair  in 2006 started with about 25 broken awards, which had to be re-made and re-shipped from Chicago in 48 hours, but the craziest part of the weekend came as I was leaving.  I was finally on my way home after barely sleeping for the four-day affair when I got a call that the 84 Lumber beaver head was missing.  (I can't make this stuff up).  It had been wrapped in a trash bag to be shipped back to the office and it was inadvertently thrown away.  I had the pleasure of digging through the trash for hours but never recovered that darn beaver head.  RIP 84 Lumber Beaver Head! 

#4 - It was very fun to come in contact with famous people while working in hospitality.  I saw Nicole Richie (barely) eating lunch, greeted NHL & NFL teams, booked rooms for Tommy Lee and Motley Crue and watched Keanu Reeves during his morning smoke break. 

#3 - Lots of fun travel!   Over the past seven years I've been able to travel to NYC a few times, Phoenix, Chicago, LA, Boston, San Diego, Dallas, Toronto, Albany, Saratoga Springs and lots of other places.    Saratoga Spring never failed to be the most exciting -- Enjoy Saratoga Springs, Always have Excedrin from the next morning.   

#2 - A highlight reel of my time in hotels would not be complete without a recap of some crazy MOD memories that included:  trying to have a rational conversation with wasted Long Island cops (not on duty fortunately) at 4 AM, dealing with guests that pee their pants in public, calling the cops on abusive husbands and handling a hooker that claimed she was assaulted by "clients"!  And you wonder why people in hospitality tend to drink a lot.

#1 - The A-M-A-Z-I-N-G People!!!!  I had great co-workers that are now my great friends!   It wasn't a day at office without morning bagel breaks, covering co-workers walls with birthing pool ads, turkey bowling, co-workers that wear Shape-ups, and even a bomb threat.  But I think that one of my favorite nights had to be when the Hyatt girls took me out for a "few" drinks before Denny and I tied the know.  Yikes, I'm not sure how 1 drink led to 10+ drinks, but it was a super fun night.com!

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Cheers to the next chapter in life.  If I meet half the amazing people as I have met in the last seven, I'll be one lucky lady!

Baby McGee Shower ~Pictures of the Week~

Last Sunday Denny and I attended the most AMAZING shower for our little girl!! 

Our Moms, Melissa and Sara worked really hard to make it perfect, and it was!  

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It's hard to find the words to begin thanking everyone that made it so special.  Beanette is one lucky little girl!

The decorations were gorgeous, and the room was beautiful!  Sara and Melissa even had a Price is Right game complete with music and props.  So cute!

Here are some of the pictures show exactly how cute everything was!  It went so fast that I didn't get to take any pictures but luckily a lot of our friends and family shared pictures.  Thanks to those who sent these our way. 



Adorable invite (with Beanette's picture on it).  Everyone brought a book to help grow our little girl's library!

The shower was held in a room called the Mama Q room at Caffe Capri, so perfect!

Super cute banner 
~Welcome Little Lady!~



A~M~A~Z~I~N~G Desserts!!   The dark ones were Peanut Butter Cup.  Beanette loved them!

Dad with the adorable drawing her did for Beanette's room.  It was such a great surprise!

  ~~~  Some of our Wonderful guests!!  ~~~

            

Sara & Kelly, the best Aunties ever!

Jenn and Fynan even made it to the shower from Germany!!

  ~~~  The Proud Grandmas!  ~~~

Aunt Kathy, BJ and Soon-to-be Grandma McGee

Melissa, me and Nana-to-be

~~  We were so lucky to get so many wonderful gifts for Beanette, and Denny helped me to open everything.  He is very excited for his little girl.  ~~ 

Proud Dad!

  ~~~  Some After Pictures   ~~~

Just a few snapshots of Beanette's room with some of her wonderful gifts!  More pics to come as we finish her nursery.

Poor girl has nothing to wear!

 She has so many cozy places to nap, lots of blankets for snuggling, and tons of stuffed animals!   Can't wait to read her all these books too!

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We can't thank all of our friends and family from Ohio and Pa enough for all you did to make us feel so loved!!  We can't wait to make the trip to visit everyone once she arrives!!

Olympic Fever!

I. Love. The Olympics!

I think the Olympics are one of the most exciting times to be an American and get swept up in the competition, the intensity and the passion of the athletes and the countries they represent.  I love hearing their stories of how they made it, and the adversity they overcame to be at the games. 

As kids, Melissa and I used to follow the Olympics like it was our jobs.  I'm sure if you look hard enough at my parents house, you'll find VHS tapes of all the opening ceremonies during the 80's.  When the games started, Melissa and I cut out all the newspaper articles about the Olympics, followed the medal counts each day and even made giant Olympic scrapbooks featuring every magazine article from the entire summer (I can't lie, we were kind of losers). 

We loved all the sports, but especially gymnastics.  I spent many summer afternoons sprinting down the vault runway (aka the dining room into the living room) and then vaulting over the square pink ottoman we had in the living room (the couch was mint colored with pink flowers and the coordinating ottoman was pink -- needless to say, it was the 80's) pretending that I was about to bring home gold. 

When I finished vaulting practice, I spent my free time writing letters to Kim Zmeskal (she was way cooler than Shannon Miller because she didn't wear ugly hair puffs). 

Kim - My childhood hero!

Shannon - Kim's not-as-cool teammate based solely on the hair puff
(although she was clearly 100% cooler than me, the girl vaulting off the ottoman)

When we weren't busy watching the Olympics or writing to the stars, we participated in backyard Olympics at our friend Julie's house!  We had tons of competitions including the cartwheel competition, swimming, broomstick throwing (aka the javelin) and relays.  

During the last time the summer Olympics were taking place, I traded in the vault runway and instead ran down the aisle to marry Denny.  We didn't plan to get married during the Olympic festivities, but it kind of adds to the magic of the games. 

This year I won't be vaulting or running down the aisle but I'll gladly take my seat as a spectator and sport my red & blue.  The opening ceremony kicks off in just a few hours!! 

Go Team USA!!

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Cha Cha Changes

It's been an exciting few months in the McGee house to say the least, and the changes continue.

Let me start at the beginning...

Four years ago Denny and I were getting ready for our Big Day and I was also making plans in my mind for another big endeavor, grad school!  I had been in the hospitality and events industry at that time for about 3 years and I was starting to wonder what opportunities existed outside of the world of Heads in Beds. 

Denny and I said I Do in August, and in November we said I Do to grad school.  It was half the excitement of our wedding and twice the cost so I'm not sure what we were thinking (perhaps we were still drunk off Balashi beer from our honeymoon in Aruba). 
<><>

Y-U-M!!

Denny and I pushed each other through the program one class at a time.  Finally after 2 1/2 years of very little sleep, gallons of coffee, hours of work and 4 Gigs of my jump drive, we graduated, celebrated and returned to normal life aka sleeping more than 4 hours a night.

Double Hooray!

Since then this little piece of me has still been wondering what else is out there.  Not that I haven't loved my time working with some amazing people in the crazy hospitality world, but I been full of curiosity.  I felt like Columbus wondering if the world really was round.  I just had to find out!

So, I did.  And in just a few days I'll say good-bye to the hospitality world after almost 7 years.

I am SO thrilled to announce that I accepted a Business Development role at the UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.  It wasn't necessarily on my To Do while 6 months pregnant, but I have come to find out that life rarely listens to any one's game plan.  And when opportunity Knocks - you open the door, invite it in and serve it iced tea.

I have worked with the UB CEL team in the past, and I am joining an amazing team!  They have been 100% supportive (and informed) about Beanette from Day 1, which makes one more change during this time of my life way less stressful.   The really rewarding part of my new role is that my work at UB will help local business leaders grow their entrepreneurial spirit and ultimately help business in Buffalo thrive. 

I'm really happy and I feel like I found my little place in life.  So here's to another change in one of the most exciting years of our life!  Oh, and go Bulls!

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PS  I'm not the only pregnant woman taking on a new role.  Yahoo recently hired a new CEO due with a Baby Boy this October.  Cheers to brave women trying to have it all while in maternity pants.  To weigh in on this from a Mommy point of view, click here!

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Picture of the Week ~Happy Birthday Lex~

(Editor's note:  It's technically my Sunday so this post is not a day late, but I'm sorry for being a bloggie slacker.  More posts to come this week including updates about Beanette's amazing shower)

Now onto a very important picture of the week...

The little kitty cat that turned Denny and I into Crazy Cat People turned 6 today!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEXI GIRL!!

She is growing up so fast!  Seems like just yesterday we were enrolling her at kittygarten!

Birthday Girl when she was just a few weeks old!

When we thought about getting a pet in the fall of 2006 we took a trip to the SPCA with no intention to bring anything home... then we saw a sweet little kitty struggling to even jump 3 inches from the upper shelf to the lower shelf of her cage.  She was so cute and tiny we could not leave her.  The next thing we knew, we were new kitty parents to Lexi!!

During her first few months, she was so tiny that she would fit inside my heels, and we were constantly worrying about losing her.  She once spent a few minutes in the fridge after sneaking in while we unloaded groceries.  Luckily we realized it in no time, and found her on the beer shelf, chilled but unharmed.

Little Lex has been quite the little entertainer over the past few years!  She is always there to greet us when we get home and is an excellent cuddler.  

For her Big Birthday today she celebrated with a Fancy Feast breakfast buffet.  She rocked out to her favorite songs, Bringin Lexi Back (the other kitties don't know how to act) and I'm Lexi and I Know It!  She had a nap and then watched out the window for her boyfriend kitty, Bazooka Joe.  It was a pretty good day for her! 

Happy Birthday Lexi!  Six years ago today I would never imagine that I would spend my night blogging about a cat, but your cute little 7-lb self sure has worked your Lexi magic and turned us into your #1 Fans!!    XOXO

Lex meeting Santa Claws for her 1st Christmas

Naptime in her tent

Lex is a great secret keeper... not letting the cat out of the bag

A Day in the Life of Beanette

Despite having never met my daughter, I've become very familiar with her daily schedule.  I'll have to confirm this with her when she arrives but here are my thoughts on her daily activities

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5:30 AM 
Beanette wake up call because her big sister Lexi is dancing on my head for her morning Fancy Feast buffet.  Beanette can't wait to meet her sister, kicks me in excitement and sends me to the bathroom.

6:00 AM
I'm pretty sure she is back to bed by this time, she apparently takes after us and likes to sleep late. 

8:30 AM
Wide awake and ready for another Bring your Daughter to Work Day.  She grows brain cells (250 per minute) while I try to make my way through morning e-mails.  I'm not sure where she gets her ambition.

11:00 AM
Beanette kick boxing lessons.  It appears that she is going to have a really strong core by the time she is born.  I make trips #11-25 to the ladies room.

1:00 PM
More napping.   She seems to do this during much of the afternoon gearing up for a fun evening of activities

7:00 PM
Beanette playtime!!  I'm quite certain that this is how my bladder looks to her:

I can't blame her for being excited.  I would want to bounce too!

10:00 PM

She's been jumping and kicking for a few hours now and finally seems to be tuckered out! 

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Sweet Dreams Beanette, can't wait until we really get to tuck you in bed!

Picture of the Week ~Mommy McBlog~

Guess what??  I have a little announcement to make...


Our family if growing (no, it's not Beanette just yet), it's the birth of my dream project!

Welcome to the world, Mommy McBlog!!!

Hello World!  Picture of the Week!

For years writing has been my favorite way to express myself.  I remember feeling more comfortable writing papers in high school than speaking to people.  And thank goodness for the creation of Instant Messenger in college or noone would ever know who I really am. 

I've been loving the fun of writing the McGee McBlog and I keep wondering if I could somehow make it have more mass appeal... Soooo after much thought and even more brainstorming of ideas to Denny, Melissa, Lexi and any person or any cat that will listen, I've decided to merge my love of writing with the hilariousness of pregnancy and mommyhood (I'm sure trying to handle a 7-lb baby will have it's share of crazy moments).  Thus, the idea of the Mommy McBlog was born. 

And after a downloaded book about blogging on my kindle and the purchase of the domain, MommyMcBlog.com, I think I'm ready to be a blogger. 

So, if you are a Mommy, if you know a Mommy, or if you just want to support a blogger wanna-be, click here, follow the blog, or like the blog on Facebok!! 

Thanks friends!  Have a great week!

Jingle All the Way to the Weekend!

It's Friday, the weather is beautiful and Pandora is playing... Christmas music, hmm?!?

Normally this annoys me like no other.  C'mon Pandora!  If you are brilliant enough to figure out my favorite songs how do you not know it is currently summertime?  

Today seems different though.  Today Christmas songs are actually putting me in an extra good mood.  I'm not ready for Santa to visit, and I'm definitely not ready to get out the winter clothes.  (Heck, my summer clothes barely fit!  Imagine me trying to squeeze into turtleneck sweaters right now... Hello Jaws of Life!)

But today Christmas music makes me really excited for what our holidays will entail this year!!  A cute little girl all dressed up in adorable red and green dresses with matching tights (thanks Auntie Melissa for her outfit)... a new stocking on the mantle... lots of toys under the tree.  Beanette probably won't know or care much about the holidays but it is still really fun to think about all the new meaning the holidays will have with a cute baby girl in our lives. 

This will be the ninth Christmas Denny and I will spend together and I'm pretty sure it will be one of the best yet.  Now if only we could figure out her name so Santa can be sure to add her to the Nice List!

Happy Friday to all,

and to all a good weekend!!



Simpler Times!

Who hasn't wished they could move back to a simpler time??

Perhaps a time when the kids didn't spend dinnertime staring at their DS...
Perhaps a time when families spent their Sunday afternoons going for drives in the country, singing songs and enjoying together time...
Or perhaps a time when Mom, Dad and the kiddos all huddled around the TV to watch wholesome family programs on the boob tube...


Who doesn't Love Lucy?  I know I do!

The All-American Family enjoying happy times

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Anxious to rekindle this special time with your kids?   Denny and I have the solution for you...

 Introducing the coolest TV east of the Mississippi. 

• Works (sometimes)
• Flat (ish) screen
• LCD (Large, Cumbersome and Definitely heavy)
• Doubles as a ledge for picture frames and/or table to set your beverages (coasters encouraged)
• Comes with attached cord

Denny and I feel that we have been fortunate enough to spend six years with this beautiful television but we don't want Beanette growing up spoiled so we have decided it is time to share our wealth with others.  Yes, this bad boy is going on the market. 

The TV is currently in our garage waiting to go to its next loving home (please do not spend all night sleeping in the driveway waiting for us to open the door in the morning). 

We are accepting bids starting at -$10.  Yes, we will pay YOU for taking it away!  If interested, please call or stop by.  All interested applicants will be evaluated and a thorough background check will be completed. 

In no time at all you too can be enjoying America's great technological advances with your loved ones!!  But be warned, we will not be held responsible for your kids becoming spoiled by the finer luxuries in life.

Picture of the Week ~Cravings~

 ~~  Happy Weekend everyone!  ~~

I hope you are enjoying these lazy days of summer.

For the picture of the week I thought I would focus on the one thing I'd been craving for the past few weeks...

Y-U-M!!

I can't get enough of Popsicles lately (in particular the orange, lime and grape ones).  They are cold, flavorful and delicious.  I've always loved ice cream so maybe Beanette has inherited my love of cold treats during the summer. 

If this makes you hungry, feel free to stop on over.  I bought the 100 popsicle value pack lately and I'm glad to share, especially if you like cherry or blue raspberry. 

Have a great Sunday and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

Declaration of Bean-Dependence / Constitution of Overprotective Parents-to-be

Happy Birthday America! 

We hope you had a great day, got tons of Happy Bday posts on your Facebook timeline, 

and finished the day feeling full of cake and ice cream! 

In the McGee house we celebrated in a low-key manner.  We slept in, Denny golfed and I spent a little time at the neighbor's pool (nothing shows patriotism quite like watching your pasty skin go from white to red -- if only I had a blue tattoo and I'd be all set!).

Then we ventured down to the Lancaster Festival for some incredibly healthy dinner options.  An elephant ear is a pregnancy super food right? 

But as we enjoyed a great night, we couldn't help but notice the clothing, or lack thereof, that some of the young girls at the festival were wearing.  Turns out that finding out the cost of daycare is NOT the scariest thing for soon-to-be parents...  the scariest thing for a parents-to-be of a daughter is to see tweens showing more skin than Madonna in the 80's.  Yikes, get out the shotgun!! 

So rather than focus much more on fireworks and picnics, I'm switching gears with this post and paying homage to our forefather's Declaration of Independence with a twist...  the Declaration of Bean-dependence.  Yes, this is for you Beanette.  We are sure you will be a great kid and you will always exhibit excellent taste when it comes to choosing your clothes.  But if you get the temptation to buy too-short shorts or wear a shirt that is less than wholesome, you can refer to this friendly declaration, and then recall that if you don't follow these simple rules, we will revoke any future Independence. 

So without further adieu:

The Declaration of Bean-dependence

Preamble
Dear Bean, Your father and I hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all fashion is created equal, that clothes are endowed to you by their Creator (aka your parents) with certain alienable Rights, that among these requirements are full coverage of your back, mid-section and the pursuit of coverage of your legs (all the way to your ankles). 

Indictment
The history of some of the girls in our current culture is a history of repeated fashion offenses and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny and complete fear of your father and me. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world (all of which you will not be permitted to wear)

• Shorts in which exhibit butt cheekage
• Shorts in which the pockets hang out more than 6 inches from the bottom of the shorts
• Shirts that resemble cobwebs in the back
• Shirts that have slits, holes, or slots
• Shirts that are see-through
• Shirts or shorts that cause boys to look at you in any way before you turn 32

Conclusion
We, therefore, the Representatives of you, the Beanette (our sweet baby girl), do, in the Name, and by Authority of the our attempt at being good parents, solemnly publish and declare that we hope you always make good judgements.

We love you so much already, and although you may roll your eyes at us and consider us overprotective, crazy and ridiculous we hope you know it is for good reason. 


Signatures
Denny McGee
Erin McGee
Seymour Turtlenecks
Abraham Fullyclothed
Ben Dover NeverInASkirt

Happy Birthday Sara!!

It's crazy to think that it has been more than 15 years since Sara & I become friends! 
We got to know eachother through soccer practice and got closer through years of shared interests.  Here is a snapshot of things we have have done together... danceline in the drama club, driver's ed classmates, bandmates (even though neither of us could play our instruments), band camp roomies, majorettes (the real reason we were even in the band to begin with), Bobcats, college roomies, sorority sisters, bridesmaids and now new Moms (Sara to Crosby puppy and me to Beanette). 

    

Senior year Prom - the OU countdown had begun!
(No hair comments please - photo is over 10 years old  :)  )

 


Being "Prom dates" while in college

We've now had a longer time as knowing eachother than not knowing eachother.  It's a good feeling to know that someone understands where you came from and where you hope to go someday! 
Sara has become another sister to me during the many good and bad times (and bad fashion) we have endured together. 




 

Bridesmaids!



My favorite picture - two friends, too many drinks, too funny!

So as we enter another decade together, I wish you the happiest of Birthdays Sara!!  

Picture of the Week ~Happy Birthday Aunt Joy!~

Today, July 1st, would have been our Aunt Joy's Birthday.  We lost her this December after a courageous battle with cancer so it seemed like a great time to remember what an amazing Aunt, Mom, Sister, Great Aunt, Grandma, Wife and Friend she was to all of us!

Aunt Joy, I'm sure you are having quite the Birthday celebration in Heaven tonight with the other Q's that are up there with you. 

Happy Birthday!  We love you and miss you lots!  LLKK

Aunt Joy and Uncle Bill meeting Ryan - Sept 2011

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Q fun in Cali! - Fall 2004

Tourist-y Q's in front of the Hollywood sign



Q Reunion in the Buff, such a special weekend! - September 2010