Happy New Year!!

I love starting a new year! Something about taking out a blank calendar makes me feel like it's a fresh start - a new beginning and a time when I can refocus on what I want to accomplish both personally and professionally. 2011 was a VERY exciting year - I went back to work full-time after freelancing for a few years while the kids were little. I can honestly say that it was a great decision because I work for an amazing company and with wonderful people. I really like the fact that I can see my career at Wyndham Vacation Ownership growing each year! My biggest fear was the mom guilt, having to put three kids who were used to being at home with me everyday into full-time school, but you know what? They're doing great! I finally feel like I have a good balance of both family and career. I'm fortunate to have a husband who supports me and helps me in so many ways. A happy wife is a happy life right? :)

I have a few resolutions for 2012 and in the spirit of the new year, I'll share three of them with you! Here's wishing you and your families a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Stay Positive - The one thing I can always count on to stay the same is change. 2011 was a year of tremendous change for me and my family and I don't expect 2012 to be any different. My goal is to stay positive. As a control-freak Virgo, it's easy for me to get a little flustered when my plans are thrown into the air, but if there's anything I've learned in since having three little kids it's that, "I plan and God laughs." I think it's important to make a conscious decision each day to be happy. No one can make you happy but yourself, so staying positive is key even during the most difficult moments.
Embrace My Strengths - Recently our department took a test called Emergenetics to learn more about our personalities. What I learned is that I'm very right-brained - social and conceptual (what a surprise right?!) I'm also expressive, aggressive and flexible. Sometimes I feel like my outgoing personality doesn't really fit in a corporate setting. However, what I do know is that my outgoing personality helps me connect with people and that's a good strength to have - especially when you work in the world of communications. Building relationships is key to my success and in 2012 my goal is to embrace the things that make me unique. Diversity makes this world a better place and it sure would be boring if we were all the same. I know I'm not a wallflower - never have been and never will be - and if there's one quote that makes me happy it's:


Learn, Grow, Lead! - Ok, I ripped that tagline off our Learning and Development team at work, but it's a good one. I've learned so much in 2011 and in 2012 I just want to keep learning. In the past year I've realized that I have a passion for social media, diversity, inspirational leadership, generations in the workplace and so much more. That's because I've kept my mind open to learning as much as possible. This is one reason why I love Twitter so much. It's like a 24/7 learning channel. I also want to grow as a professional, continue establishing relationships with those who are more experienced than I and keep an open mind when they give me advice. I have a wonderful mentor at work and I'm so grateful for the time he takes to guide and help me. He's a sounding board for ideas, helps me solve problems and gives me great advice. He inspires me to grow and lead others by doing the same. In a recent conversation he said, "You don't have to have a big title to be a leader - anyone can lead you just need to do what you can to inspire others." This pic says it best:

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012! I'm excited to see what the new year will bring!

I'm NOT a morning person!

My blog's two-year anniversary is coming up next month and I laugh because although my life has changed so much in the 730 days since it's creation, one thing has not changed - the fact that I am NOT a morning person! I call my blog, "Narratives of a Night Owl" because I'm just that - a night owl. I love staying up late and I rarely go to bed before midnight even though I know I'll have to be up by 7:00 getting ready for work and getting my three little ones off to school. I just love everything about nighttime. It's quiet, it's dark, it's peaceful. My brain thinks best at night, I'm the most creative then. My writing flows so much easier and I can spend hours reading about things that I find interesting. I've always been into blogging, but recently I've joined the world of Tweeting. I can spend hours reading articles from FastCompany, or DiversityInc, or on WorkingMothers. So just in case I didn't have enough time before keeping up with Facebook and two blogs, now I have my Twitter handle (@OneDrivenChick) and I also plan on starting a Pintrest account. I just love the world of social media and the best part is that you can do it any time of day. It's a 24/7 world out there and for Night Owls like me, it's so much fun!

I Need More Arms!

How is 2012 beginning in less than a week? It's just not possible! This year has been a whirlwind - but I have to say I've loved every minute of it. On January 3rd I will celebrate my 1-year anniversary of going back to the the corporate world. It's been nothing short of amazing and one of the best decisions of my life. I was so worried about the mom guilt and how my kids would handle life without me 24-hours a day - and you know what? EVERYONE is happier! I'm just really excited to see what the new year holds. However, if there's one thing I could use, it would be a few more arms!

I feel bad that I've neglected my personal blog this year, but I've been really focused on JD's blog (www.followingjdsjourney.blogspot.com). In 2012 I'll be back to doing what I love to do - write just to write! Hope everyone had a wonderful 2011 and is ready to take 2012 by the horns!!!

Camp Boggy Creek

I have to brag for a minute... I really have the best job in the world! I spent the entire afternoon at Camp Boggy Creek discussing my company's philanthropic program and our plan for supporting the Hole in the Wall Camps for 2011! What an amazing group of people - they dedicate their lives to helping terminally ill kids. I'm so happy that I can be a part of their program. I'm really excited about getting our associates geared up to volunteer... with 13,000 people we can really make a diffference.

It was a really eye-opening experience. Seeing these kids enjoying the camp with their family really tugs at my heart strings. It makes me appreciate how fortunate we are to have three healthy kids. Even with JD's disabilities, it's nothing compared to what these families endure everyday.

What the heck do I do?

Since going back to work a few weeks ago I’ve had a lot of people ask me, “What does an internal communications manager actually DO?”

Communicate, right?! Well yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Since it seems that there isn’t a lot of familiarity with the world of corporate communications, I felt like this might be a good chance to give my friends and family a little insight into what I spend my days doing. So sit back, relax and let me tell you a story of a career girl in the big corporate world…

Imagine you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company – you’ve got thousands upon thousands of employees located all over the country, possibly even the world. Your days are spent focusing on the future of the organization, streamlining operations, increasing free cash flow… you get the idea. You’ve created a “senior leadership team” to support the company’s goals and forge the way into the future. Together you’ve spent hours meeting to discuss strategies, change integration initiatives, employee engagement. But how are these great plans put into place? Enter stage right – the internal communications manager – me!

The beautiful, intelligent, wildly energetic blonde walks into the room (ok, I had to add that line) and senior leadership lets out a sign of relief thinking… “thank God, someone else has to worry about how to get the rest of the company on board with our plan.” Yes – that’s my job. I’ve come to save the day, to translate all the corporate BS and get employees on the bandwagon. I’m a partner, discussing the information that needs to be communicated and what the SLT needs to think about before hitting the “send” button. I craft the message, I outline the timelines, I select the communications channels and I ultimately send it live before those thousands of people in your company. In a nutshell I’m the traffic controller of the corporate world.

Yes, this includes writing memos, drafting articles for employee newsletters and sending out emails upon emails. It’s a lot of writing, editing and re-writing… not so much fun. But what my job has that most other jobs don’t is the ability to learn every aspect of a company. I work with all departments – I get to know all types of people from executive management to front-line employees. In order to effectively communicate I have to have a detailed understanding of each department and each project. Opportunities like these are priceless.

It’s not a job for everyone. You can’t be shy and you have to have a touch of confidence in your stride, but you also have to be a team player. You have to know when to speak up, and know when to sit back and listen. You have to be eloquent, but not too eloquent. You have to love your company and love to write even more. You have to be able to re-read documents over and over until your eyes hurt because you know that one error can ruin the integrity of the message. You have to be there, ready for anything, willing to jump in at a moment’s notice because when you’re called into a meeting with the CEO you better have your game face on! Luckily there are people in the world like me who live to “spread the good news” and I’m not talking about the Bible here! Call me a corporate cheerleader, I don’t care… I know that without me the best laid plans would go to waste!

Back to Work!

Hello Corporate America! It's been a while!... actually about four years to be exact. Today ends the first week of my new position at Wyndham Vacation Ownership and I'm loving being back to work. Not that I didn't like my four years at home with the kids or my freelance business, I just love being part of a large organization with LOTS of people, ideas and projects! In December I took a position as a Manager of Corporate Communications and 2011 started with a bang. It's amazing how energized I am by working again... however there is one drawback... I miss wearing my beautiful sweatpants all day! :)

Surgery - Man it Hurts!

Ugh... I feel like I've been such a horrible blogger since I've basically fell off the planet since the last time I was here. I can't say it's not without good reason though, 2010 has been a tough year and to tell you the truth blogging isn't the first thing that comes to mind some nights. However, with that said, I'm up and I can't sleep and the past few weeks have really made me appreciate the little things a bit more. I've spent the last four weeks in and out of the hospital and found out that my horrible pain was from gallstones. Thankfully I had my gallbladder removed and was on my way to recovery when I found out that I had one stuck in my bile duct (don't ask me what or where that is, but it's attached somehow). After four more days in the hospital I'm finally home and better. But it's funny because when I was in the hospital I just really appreciated all of the people that helped get me better. My surgeon, Dr. Enrique Sta.Ana, was amazing - it's not everyday when you meet a doctor and right off the bat you know that they are great - but even the first time we met I knew he'd made this horrible experience just a little bit easier. And when things didn't turn out quite as we expected and I ended up back in the hospital, he made me laugh through my tears. I am so glad that he was able to help me get better! I also am thankful for my best friend Katie who had to step in a take over everything while I was sick. Katie is our nanny and not only did she drive over to our house in the middle of the night so that I could go to the hospital, she ended up having to stay at our house for a week to take care of the kids. She ended up being in charge of a massive birthday carnival party for two of my little ones while I laid in bed recovering. That's love right there! Thanks Katiebug :) Without going on and on about all the people I love, I think what I'm really saying is that sometimes you forget how easy everything is until your life is at a standstill and you have to rely on other people to get you through the day. It's those people who are your true friends :)