7QTs on 38+ Goodbyes in 7 Days

Woof. It has been a whirlwind of a two weeks. I have packed up my entire life, driven it to Kansas, and found place to live in Illinois. More importantly, I have listened to Serial in it's entirety and am obsessed. I cannot wait for season two, or to start listening to This American Life on my new public transportation commute.

But I digress. Since I waited to tell anyone I was moving until I told the Events Team after SEEK, my last week in Colorado was packed back to back saying goodbye to my favorite people and my favorite places. So today I give you 7QTs on 38+ goodbyes in 7 days!

--one--

The day after I got home from SEEK, my housemates and I had our last dinner. It was awesome to sit around the living room with Carolyn, Mary, Jenna, & Matika talking about life and eating Swing Thai - Colorado Bucket List Item!

--two--

Last Thursday, I met up with my favorite Camp Tecumsehites who live in Denver. It has been a huge blessing to have Holly, Arielle, and Molly living in Denver while I was here. We ate at Trattoria Stella's and talked about our lives and our hopes for the futures while drinking delicious wine. Eating here was a Colorado Bucket List Item!

--three--

On Friday, we had an Events Team Send Off. JP is getting married and moving to LA, and I'm moving to Chicago. I love these people fiercely and already miss them so much. When I joined the Events Team, I didn't realize how great of friends these people would become. As I continue to grow in my life, I hope to become more like them in their professionalism and their faith. 

--four--

Saturday was a road trip through Colorado. In the morning I met Shelby in Boulder for brunch. After some great catching up, I made a quick stop at Celestial Seasonings, then drove north to Fort Collins to meet baby Pierce and say goodbye to the Sebastian's. Miles and I are finally best friends, right in time for me to move. Dana was my missionary at Drake and it has been such a blessing having her and Derek so close. They are a beautiful example of a fun and holy family could look like!

--five--

On Sunday I got to hit a few of my favorite Denver spots. It started with Mass at the Cathedral, followed by brunch at Fork and Spoon with Sophie and Lindsay.

Then I got to do some writing at The Book Bar. I ended the night at St. Jude's

The girls in my discipleship group are so sweet - I'm going to miss them so much! It's crazy to see how much they've grown and matured in the last 1.5 years. We read through Luke ch. 4 and Jesus talks about now it is time for him to go to a new place to preach. It was the perfect passage to end my time with these girls on.

After youth group, the leaders went and got a drink. I have a special bond with these people. It has been awesome to work for the same mission alongside them and have some good, old fashioned fun with them. Pray for Megan, Ramon, Alexei, Terri, & the Candler's as they continue to show the teens at St. Jude's Jesus' love.

--six--

Bible Study is on Monday's, so we had a big party this week. These women have shaped my past semester in such a profound way. I seriously don't know how I would have survived without them. It is incredible what God does when a group of people get together with the intention of growing closer to Him. They are going to keep Bible Study going and that just makes my heart so happy!

--seven--

On Tuesday, I got dinner with the newly married Stephens and got to catch up with them. It had been awhile since I'd seen them, so it was cool to see how married life was treating them!

Wednesday was my last day in the office. It was filled with Beau Thai and many bittersweet goodbyes. 

Finally, Mom and Tommy arrived Wednesday night. We rounded out the goodbyes to my friends by grabbing dinner at Beau Jo's Pizza with Steph and Joanna.

The next day we crossed off "appreciate the mountains" and "pray at the Mother Cabrini Shrine" off my bucket list. 

In the end, the only two things I didn't get to do on my Colorado Bucket List were skiing and visiting the 16th Street Mall. I'd say it was a pretty successful week of goodbye's!

For more quick takes, check out This Ain't The Lyceum.

The Farewell Colorado Bucket List

The Task: Visit all my favorite Denver/Colorado spots before I move.

The Challenge: I move on Friday and most of my time will be spent wrapping things up at the office and packing up.

Also, I care more about saying goodbye to people than I do saying goodbye to these places. So I'm sure most, if not all, of these places will not be visited. But I'm up for the challenge!

Farewell Colorado Bucket List

Eat at Trattoria Stella. Best. Restaurant. Ever. It's in an adorable old house and it has the best food ever. If you haven't been here, you need to go now!

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Completed 1/8 with my Camp Tecumseh friends.

Appreciate the Mountains. I'd hypothetically like to do something in the mountains, but I don't really know what I want to do in the mountains...so, I just want to appreciate the mountains before I can no longer see them out my window and on my drive to work every day.

As excited as I am for the the train, it won't look as good as this.

Buy Colorado things on 16th Street Mall. The cheesier, the better.

What even is this thing?
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Go to Celestial Seasonings. Definitely got to stock up on the tea's that they don't sell in stores: AKA the extra caffeinated black team. #caffinefordays

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Completed 1/10.

Pray at the Mother Cabrini Shrine. I've actually only been here once, right after I graduated college. But overlooking the mountains and the city with the Sacred Heart of Jesus seems like a good way to end my time here.

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Drink Coffee, Buy a Book, and Write a little at The Book Bar. I'm obsessed with this little place; it's a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, and bookstore all mixed into one.

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Completed 1/12.

Eat with my team at Beau Thai. Delicious Thai food, but more importantly, this place is filled with memories of my team bonding. I'm hoping we'll grab lunch here on Wednesday...actually I'm going to set us a meeting for this now.

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Get take out from Swing Thai. Mary & I recently discovered this thai place around the corner from us and it is so good!

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Completed 1/7 with my roommates.

Eat Beau Jo's Pizza. I mean, just look at that pizza.

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Go to Mass and pray at Basilica Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

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Completed 1/12 with Lindsay and Sophia.

Bonus Item: Go Skiing. This probably will not happen. But, I've never been, and I'd love to go before I move.

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Well, there it is! What else would you visit before you moved away from Denver?

7QTs on Anything Other than SEEK2015

--one--

I titled my first #7QTs post after SLS14 like this, and I like it, so I'm doing it again. Like last year, I get one quick take on SEEK. It's over and that's crazy. I don't know how to handle it. The team got back late Tuesday night, and I've taken the past two days off. It's actually be great relaxing and gearing back up to launch into real life.

--two--

JP is moving to LA to get married this weekend, so we're having a big team dinner and party tonight to say goodbye. I've had the privilege of working with JP very closely on AV, sponsorships, and production these past few months. He's a great guy and I'm going to miss staying at the office really late at night watching movies in the background with him.

--three--

So, I have some news. I have a new job and I'm moving to Chicago a week from today! I don't think I've had much time to process this information until yesterday. I do not have a place to live, but I'm headed there very soon!

--four--

Verily Magazine has a great article about how to move to a new city, so I have officially made a "goodbye Colorado" bucket list. I've gotten calendar time with almost everyone I want to see, so now I just need to add calendar time to visit those few last place I want to say goodbye to. Also, I really, really want to go skiing before I move. I've lived here for a year and a half and I still haven't been skiing or snow boarding. I think I need to take care of that before going to the mountains become a long trip.

--five--

I arrived home on Tuesday night to many Christmas Cards, so that was pretty fun! Thanks to everyone who sent me a card.

--six--

Have you guys started playing Trivia Crack? My sister and brother got me hooked while I was home for Christmas. I can't stop playing.

--seven--

My teammate from Nebraska, Steph, is getting married in four months! I'm super pumped. However, I have to order my dress soon (like today), and I can't decide between these two...any thoughts on which one!? The left is the Poplin Dress and the right is the Marilyn Dress!

Head back over to This Ain't The Lyceum for more quick takes!

7QTs on #whatmovesyou

--one--

Let's start with a question...What Moves You? What gets you up in the morning? Why do you do every little thing that you do? No, I don't want the answer that you know you're supposed to give, I want to know what really moves you?

It's time to engage that question, to go deeper than the simple, easy answers. Come explore with us; register at www.seek2015.com. Join the conversation: #WhatMovesYou.

--two--

I've watched this video a lot of times in the past couple of days and I've really started to engage the question myself. Sure, I know the answer. Jesus. He's the answer to every question, right? But...is He really what moves me? Is He truly the guiding force of my every action at every day?

My friend Mary writes for Catholic News Agency, and she wrote an awesome blog post about SEEK, Socrates, & Beyonce. You should check it out, and start asking yourself that question. (And if you don't know #WhatMovesYou, join us for SEEK!)

--three--

I've been praying a lot about living simply and living in the moment. On the Feast of the Assumption, I went up into the mountains with (a different) Mary & Steph to go stand up paddle boarding. It was so much fun and so incredibly beautiful. As we were paddling, Mary said, "Isn't it awesome that God's will for us today is to stand up paddle board and soak up the beauty of nature?" That is living in the moment, my friends.

--four--

Last week, FOCUS Events was so #blessed to be able to help out with the Amazing Parish Conference. It was an intensive two day workshop for parish leadership teams to help their parishes become truly, well, AMAZING! It was cool stepping into another event with the goal of making disciples, but for a different audience. I think this Amazing Parish movement is really important. I'm excited to see how they grow in the next few years, and how Amazing our Church can become.

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--five--

Christine and John Paul asked me if I would be interested in helping with production (aka Audio Visual things) for the conference. While I basically had no idea what I was doing, I had so much fun. I got to run microphones to people asking questions in the audience, move chairs and podiums on stage and then off again, and help Matt Maher sound check. 

But the BEST part was getting to call camera's for the Thursday morning Mass. I was terrified that I would mess up, but I think it went pretty well. It was cool knowing that what everyone was seeing up on the big IMEG screens was there because I put it there! Our AV team (JP, me, 2 PSAV guys, & 3 video guys) was the reason every went so smoothly. Everyone was so much fun, especially when we told lame jokes over our headsets. 

--six--

Recently, we've been talking a lot about how important it is to spend time with the people we work with and invest in our teams so that we have trust and a good working environment. I am so #blessed that the Events Team gets along so well and we make loving one another a priority. 

On Wednesday, we had a team half day offsite with our #SuperTeam (read: all the departments that my boss' boss oversees) at the Colorado Rockies game. It was crazy hot (read: 91 degrees on the roof of a baseball stadium), but it was crazy fun. It was really fun getting to know everyone a little better and learning about their team dynamics. Take some time to intentionally invest in your team this week - you won't regret it.

--seven--

I have very exciting news, my friends. On Monday, the FOCUS Blog is publishing one of my posts! I'm pretty stinkin' excited.

And let's be honest...it's the main reason I posted some quick takes today. If you're stopping by because you found me via the FOCUS Blog...HI!!! IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU! Leave a comment and introduce yourself! I hope you like cat pictures and FOCUS Conferences, because that's pretty much all I write about.

Here's a cat pic, incase that's your thing.

Everyone else: be sure to check out www.focus.org/blog on Monday to see me in all up on the fancy FOCUS Blog!!

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Linking up with Jen. Check out more quick takes at conversiondiary.com.

7QTs on Traveling to 10 Cities in 8 Days

If you were to count airports, I was in 10 different cities these past 8 days. Woof. Please enjoy the following quick takes that chronicle my cross country journey this week.

--- 1 ---

City #1: Leawood, Kansas. My whole family was home for a hot second with enough time to go to lunch on Saturday. It was great to be back Friday & Saturday afternoon to spend time with those that were home. I didn't do much, so it was a nice, relaxing way to start this cross country adventure.

--- 2 ---

City #2: Kansas City, Missouri. Megan, a friend from Drake, lives in town, so I got to spend a bit of time with her Friday night. Also, she's watching my cat before my allergic roommate moves out, so that was fun.

--- 3 ---

City #2: Lincoln, Nebraska. Read about this trip in more detail here. This trip was filled with ALL THE NOSTALGIA. It was great.

City #3: Omaha, Nebraska. AIRPORT.

City #4: Chicago, Illinois. AIRPORT & being reunited with Carol!

--- 4 ---

City #5: Nashville, Tennessee. SEEK 2015 is a mere 8.5 months away. Crazy. I am so glad I was finally able to see the space so I could stop picturing the Hyatt in Dallas for this event. The Gaylord Opry is HUGE and has three giant gardens indoors. It's amazing. I could start to picture what it would look like with 8,000 college students bustling through there. Our CSM, Banquet Manager, & Sales Manager were great - it is always nice to have a face to all the emails you're getting.

The best part was spending time in the exhibit hall with EideCom, our production company, and the marketing team brainstorming ways to implement the theme and the feel into the set and the space. I am so excited to keep working on it and to see what happens when it comes together. #whatmovesyou

Something I don't think I'll ever get quite used to as a meeting planner is the VIP status the hotels treat you with. When we check in at the Gaylord, they took us into a room called Celebrity Services. What!? I am not a celebrity. Regardless, it's fun to be treated well every now and then, even though it can get awkward when they discover our whole team is under 30.

City #6: Atlanta, Georgia: AIRPORT.

City #7: Ft. Myers, Florida: AIRPORT.

--- 5 ---

City #8: Ave Maria, Florida. We returned to the tiny, tiny town near Naples to prepare for New Staff Training (NST). Not only was the trip fun, it was essential to the success of NST. For the first time we had the Event Managers (the events team), the Collegiate Outreach Representative, Formation, the Committee Heads, and Ave Maria together in one place to talk about NST. We toured, we planned, and we had a lot of meetings. But mainly, we had epic golf cart races from Queen Mary's Pub back to Xavier Hall. Brian, Cait, & I totally beat Christina, JP, & Mark. This team is great, and I think we are going to ROCK NST2014.

--- 6 ---

City #9: Indianapolis, Indiana: AIRPORT. When we got off the plane I mentioned to Christine that every single time I've been in this airport the last few years I've run into someone I know. To which she responded, "well, today is the day that will change." Such a naysayer. Approximately 10 minutes later we were waiting for our lunch and Paige, a former camper of mine strolled by. I had her in Teton in 2011 when she was a baby sophomore. Now she's 18 and graduating in 19 days! I'm old.

Paige is Mt. Wister in this picture.

City #10: Denver, Colorado: HOME.

--- 7 ---

You know you've been on a site visit when the last 25 pictures on your phone are of different meeting spaces.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7QTs on Carol ditching us for Illinois

--- 1 ---

Today is officially the worst day ever. Carol packed up her car and headed back to Illinois to move home. It's not like she is really ditching us. She will still be working for FOCUS, just in a remote fashion. And I mean, moving home to prepare for your wedding and live close to your finance is a legitimate reason to move home. Still, I will miss this girl like crazy.

Carol was my first Events Team friend and my first Colorado friend. She is hilarious, extremely talented at Event Planning, and she is an incredible listener. I am so incredibly grateful to have walked with her these past seven months. She challenged me to grow in my relationships with Christ and others, and helped me develop my skills as an event planner. Only 24 days until I see her again for a whole week!

--- 2 ---

Since it was #CarolsLastWeek, we obviously had to celebrate. And man, does our team know how to celebrate. We started by leaving work a little early on Monday for a COLORADO ADVENTURE. We started with a hike up Elk Meadows, and ended with Mountain Pizza at Beau Joes and Colorado draft beers. We're really fun.

#TeamSelfie

Christina loves hikes.

--- 3 ---

Thursday was the worst, because it was her actual last day. Christina and I decked out the office.

I brought in the team favorite Reese's Bar's & Christina brought in carrots (because Carol's a weirdo and loves them) and the most amazing veggie dip I've ever eaten. After work, we toasted Carol with some wine and the team said their goodbyes.

--- 4 ---

Carol and I went with some friends to The Yard House for a last hoorah. Oh my gosh, they have approximately 1 million beers on tap and they are all amazing. So is the food. This was the best decision ever. After, I went back to Carol's apartment and watch Jimmy Fallon Hashtag videos with Hannah while Carol finished packing. As I said goodbye waaaaaay too late in the evening, Carol told me to pretend this was a normal goodbye and that I wasn't allowed to go cry in my car after I left.

--- 5 ---

This is how we're dealing with Carol being gone:

CAROL ON A STICK.

Also, we're going to drink wine after work to drown our sorrows.

--- 6 ---

In other news, my family has a March Madness bracket and I'm winning? What? I don't get it. I made my picks on the phone with my mom while shopping for earrings and I haven't watched one game...

--- 7 ---

The upside to this week: RYAN WAS IN TOWN! Kyle (Ryan) was a missionary at Drake my senior year and we've been friends ever since. He is now changing the world by growing closer to God at seminary, and will probably be a priest. Pretty much, the future of our Church is in his hands. Which is kind of a scary thing (just kidding, Ryan is really great).

I saw him for dinner Friday night, at Miles' first birthday party on Saturday afternoon, and then all day Tuesday when I spent the day in Fort Collins. Tuesday was so much fun catching up with Dana, Derek, Ryan, & Miles. We reminisced about FOCUS, Drake, and The Office. We laughed a lot, drank a lot of beers, and just had a grand old time together.

In the light of Carol leaving, I am so grateful for all the friends God has blessed me with over the course of my life. To all of you near, and far, thank you for the blessing you have been to me!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!