Show and Tell Tuesday | When I Grow Up

Linking up with Andrea for another edition of Show and Tell Tuesday! Growing up while most people wanted to be a teacher, or a doctor, or something like that... I wanted to do one thing...

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Own a Hallmark Store | My first job outside of babysitting was at Lair's Hallmark in Columbus, Ohio. This was my job all through high school and on Christmas/Summer break in college. I have always loved to send and receive cards, but working in Hallmark gave me even more of a love for writing cards. I used to say that one day I'd own a Hallmark - but that idea as changed a little. I am very interested in opening a store that sells cards, invitations and stationery. I also hope to sell gifts - think candles, planners, jewelry, home items and anything that can be monogrammed (embroidered or vinyl). While this is not currently a reality based on the fact that we are only going to live in Florida for a few more years, I would love to do this when we move to Virginia! I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can do this one day!

Working at a Hotel | I went to Virginia Tech for college and majored in Hospitality and Tourism Management. While there are a lot of different career paths you can choose I decided to focus my attention or working in Hotels/Resorts. I was lucky enough to land a job in Palm Desert, California right out of college and have been working for the same Hospitality Company since 2007. I have been lucky to advance my career and move across the country and back with a great company. When I worked in Palm Desert I was first a Bench Manager which is a 12-month program where I worked as an Assistant Front Desk Manager, Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, and Assistant Housekeeping Manager. I also spent a year working as a Food & Beverage Manager. I then moved to West Palm Beach, Florida to open a new resort and while I was there I was in charge of the Front Office. My next move was to Hilton Head, South Carolina where I focused on Front Office for a year and then moved back to Housekeeping Management. My final move was to Fort Lauderdale where I worked for 2 years as the Guest Relations Manager and am now the Resort Experience Manager.

I would be lying if I said that I knew I wanted to work in a hotel since I was a child... but I had a pretty solid idea when I started at Virginia Tech and I have had a great career following this dream since I graduated. While I don't think that I will continue to do this forever, it is definitely something I enjoy doing and who can complain about working in the fabulous location where everyone wants to vacation?!

I can't wait to see what everyone else wanted to be when they grow up... and am looking forward to the future Show and Tell Tuesday Link-Ups!

Show and Tell Tuesday | What's In a Name

I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday! We are sharing "what's in a name" today and I'm going to focus on my two babies - Jillian Harper and Noodle!

Jillian Harper is my baby girl that was born sleeping on April 2, 2014 - You can read about her by following the links listed here! When we found out we were pregnant we immediately started thinking of baby names - for boys and girls. My husband is Jonathan and me being Jacqueline we are often referred to as J&J. We knew before we even thought of having kids that we wanted to name our child something that starts with J. We found out we were having a baby girl at about 15 weeks and knew we would name her Jillian Harper within a few hours.

For as long as I remember I have loved the name Harper - but that obviously doesn't start with a J, so I wanted it to be our daughter's middle name. In going through the hundreds of J names for girls Jonathan and I agreed on only about 4. We disagreed on about 400. We discussed our top 3-4 names and decided that Jillian Harper was a beautiful name, and it was perfect for our little one.

I was living in Blacksburg for the summer when I decided I was going to get a puppy. My roommate at the time told me of dogs that were being adopted out of the Virginia Tech Vet School so I thought I'd go see them. Going into it I had no intention of getting a dog, but after seeing Noodle I knew that he was going to be mine! I confirmed that I would pick him up the next morning, and went to get everything you need for a puppy!

I picked up the cage, toys, food, bowls, and a leash. I knew I needed to get him a collar with a tag, but for that I would need a name. After discussing dog names with my friends I landed on Noodle. While at the time everyone thought I was crazy and had other suggestions, I knew this was a perfect name for him. I thought of it because from the first time I saw him he was flopping around like a wet noodle. He is my first born and baby - even though he will be 9 years old later this month!