Amy's Blog

I can’t believe it is already time to say goodbye to another year and hello to a new year.  I always welcome the new year as a clean slate of sorts.  2010 has been great, but I’m looking forward to 2011.

This year, I kept busy with my career, volunteer work, spending time with friends at concerts, baseball and football games, KSU happy hours, running, discovering great books, meeting great people, and developing some very valuable personal and professional relationships.

January of this year was a bit of a blur, as it usually is. I stay busy with work and not much else during that time. 

I spent February enjoying the success of the KSU Men’s Basketball team, watching games with friends on evenings and weekends.  I had time to spend with family attending Aunt Eileen’s 80th birthday party and Ashley’s bridal shower.  I always look forward to trips back to St. Mary’s when time allows.  I also hosted a small group of friends for a dinner party where I made mango glazed salmon and apricot  glazed chicken. We had a great time eating, drinking, and socializing. 

I stayed busy during the entire first quarter with work, FPA, and commitments at SafeHome while making time for March Madness.  One of the highlights of the month of March was sitting 11th row at the Sprint Center for one of my favorite artists, John Mayer. He put on an AWESOME show and just KILLED on guitar.  I took some great pictures. 

April brought more concerts…Taylor Swift who was really entertaining and Nickelback with Breaking Benjamin.  Spring time also brought several trips to the K and a trip to Manhattan for the KSU Spring game.  I also decided to get back into running and take my health and fitness more seriously again.  I was getting great reports from all of my doctors and I started signing up for one charity race per month. I ran the four mile Trolley Run at the end of April. 

I went to Milwaukee for a weekend in May to attend Angie’s wedding.  Fun with the newly formed Brunch Club continued as the weather warmed up. 

In June I had the pleasure of co-hosting Ashley’s baby shower with her sister and sister-in-law.  I traveled to Oklahoma with Sister Ginger for our annual Slavin family reunion. That was an interesting and event filled trip for her 80th birthday. 

The highlight of July was definitely Brittney’s surprise birthday party at the Hook Gallery with the Brunch Club and Vi Tran. Our company got the opportunity to give free financial planning advice one weekend to consumers at Crown Center and Oak Park Mall. 

We celebrated my birthday in August with a trip to Dallas, a fundraiser and steak and sushi dinner, and a trip to Cleveland to visit Uncle Bob and his family.  That was definitely an unforgettable month filled with memorable experiences.  I also started training for my first ever half-marathon. 

My usual once per semester trip to Manhattan to speak to the Institute of Personal Financial Planning at KSU happened in September.  I always enjoy returning to campus and connecting with the students there and am grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences as a young financial planning professional.  I tailgated at Arrowhead with friends during my first ever Chiefs Monday Night Football experience. The weather was great and we had a blast.  I had the pleasure of hosting Mako and Walt’s Bon Voyage and we celebrated Mako’s birthday at Californos right before the big destination wedding.

October was a whirlwind.  The month kicked off with an appearance at the annual American Royal BBQ after our FPA 2nd annual Career Day.  I had a minor setback with my leg injury but was still able to enjoy the KC Marathon cheering on my friends in the beautiful 70 degree weather.  We added a new team member at our firm and then I was lucky enough to receive a promotion the very same week. What an incredible opportunity! Since then, the last two and a half months have been a blur of learning my new role, client meetings, and just staying busy.

Our annual FPA leadership conference took place in Denver in November.  I was also able to squeeze in a really nice visit over dinner with Susan.  The weather in Denver was beautiful that weekend and I had a great time connecting with FPA colleagues all over the country.  Helping facilitate the Membership Director’s track at the conference was an awesome learning experience and I appreciated the opportunity to share ideas with others who are passionate about the financial planning profession. 

December flew by.  I had fun celebrating Christmas with the Brunch Club, Stepp & Rothwell, and my family. 

Heres to another busy and fun-filled year!

Happy New Year!