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March, 2009

  1. Cherry Blossom Time

    March 29, 2009 by Leanne

    I was so fortunate to time my visit to Washington DC this month to coincide with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Lucky for me the blossoms were in bloom a little bit earlier than expected. And also lucky for me, the weather cleared up for a few beautiful hours on Sunday to enjoy the festival.
    The tidal basin was packed with tourists from all over the world here to take in this spectacular sight. The white and pink blossoms were gorgeous!

    Washington Monument

    Washington Monument

    Gorgeous day in March

    Gorgeous day in March

    img_2442-copy

    Ahhhh

    Ahhhh

    Pretty!

    Pretty!


  2. Ladies Night Out

    March 21, 2009 by Leanne

    A darn fine group of women got together Friday night at the Olive Garden for a fun Orlando Tweet-up.  Janice Croze of www.5minutesformom.com arranged the tweet-up along with Angie of @alotofnothing.  Theresa who works with Olive Garden allowed us the opportunity to experience many of the wonderful new dishes on the menu.  (My review below)  I absolutely enjoyed meeting people that I’ve been following for some time on Twitter with short one-off conversations . There is something to be said about the relationship building from Twitter.  (I’ll save that for a future post.)

    Orlando Tweeters at Olive Garden

    Orlando Tweeters at Olive Garden

    @modernmami (L) @5minutesformom (R)

    @modernmami (L) @5minutesformom (R) also @missbrit @alotofnothing @eggmarketing Theresa w/Olive Garden

    @momsatwork, @themeparkmom

    @momsatwork, @themeparkmom

    Janice aka @5minutesformom aka Twitter addict

    Janice aka @5minutesformom "Must Tweet"

    Twitter Fever struck the table! @alotofnothing

    Twitter Fever struck the table! @alotofnothing

     

    My Olive Garden dinner review:

    Now back to dinner. I have to admit I had not been to Olive Garden in several years… not because it’s not good, quite just the opposite. I’ve avoided going there because I know I can’t stop myself from  gorging on the mouth-watering breadsticks along with everything else they prepare.  The food at Olive Garden is so good.  This night I sampled one of their new creations, Tuscan Garlic Chicken.  It was lightly breaded chicken served atop fettucine with a very light cream sauce and tons of garlic.  It was garnished with spinach and red peppers. OMG! Sinfully delicious.  @modernmami sitting next to me had the chicken/shrimp Carbona which looked incredible as well.  We were treated to an assortment of appetizers including flatbreads, soups, and calamari.  The chicken flatbread was delicious and was much better than the basic tomatoe flatbread.  The pasta fagioli soup was just as I remembered it - yummmmmy.  The ladies on both sides of me tried the newest soup, the chicken gnocchi, which they raved about.  Check out the Olive Garden menu.  While it is not a calorie-friendly place (well actually, there are a gazillion calories there)  it is worth the splurge to taste these decadent dishes.

    Final note – the service was fabulous- – great waiters/waitresses with personality plus!  Customer service makes all the difference in the world. I wish every company realized that. 

    Thank you to Olive Garden and  www.5minutesformom.com for a wonderful evening.  Also thanks to Theresa who helped arrange our fabulous meal.

    I look forward to my new friendships. 

    (P.S. I know I missed some twitter names here but I unfortunately didn’t write them all down)


  3. Flower & Garden Festival

    by Leanne

    The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival opened this Wednesday.  I wandered around World Showcase with my moms panel friends, Brigitta, her mom and daughter, Brooke; Laura, and my new Twitter friends Dawn and Bill.  It was my first “tweet-up”.  Kinda cool!   Mickey must have pulled some strings to have such fan-tab-ulous weather for opening week.  Hats off to all the horticulturalists who made Epcot look so spectacular.  The Festival runs thru May 31 and includes weekend musical acts – like Davey Jones this weekend.   Everyone should go – you’ll not only get self enjoyment but you’ll be doing your part to help the economy.

     

    Bambi Flower Art

    Bambi Flower Art

     

    Butterfly Hair

    Butterfly Hair


  4. Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

    March 15, 2009 by Leanne

    Watched the launch of space shuttle Discovery from my neighborhood front entrance. How totally cool!

    Shuttle Launch - seconds after lift-off

    Shuttle Launch - seconds after lift-off

    Shuttle Discovery

    Shuttle Discovery

    Shuttle Launch - 1 minute after take-off

    Shuttle Launch - 1 minute after take-off


  5. Twitter me this…

    March 12, 2009 by Leanne

    Common question I get asked “How do I get started on Twitter?” Here are a few ways I got started. Remember, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes some time to really get into the swing of things.
    Be patient!


  6. What a week so far…

    March 10, 2009 by Leanne

    It’s not even Wednesday yet and all I can say is “What a week” it has been so far.

    Unfortunately, more bad new than good news:

    1. My mom’s hairdresser of 20 years died unexpectedly at age 58
    2. Mikita had more stomach/digestive problems
    3. A co-worker’s mother-in-law passed away
    4. A colleague I’ve worked closely with for 3 years is gone
    5. My sciatic nerve kicked in to teach me a lesson for working out
    6. Adjusting to Daylight Savings time

    And it’s only Tuesday night.   There have been some upsides like: meeting with Brigitta of the Moms Panel (’08)’ for a pleasant update on her life;  a great birthday greeting to my friend Mike in California.

    My job for the remainder of the week: be gracious and tough. Figure out what needs to be done and do it. Be thankful for everything I’ve got and pray for others. 

    Looking forward to Saturday.


  7. Orlando Sentinel article on Twitter

    March 6, 2009 by Leanne

    I was interviewed yesterday by Beth Kassab of the Orlando Sentinel about Twitter.   It was fun to talk with her about not only Twitter, but social media in general.  The article appears in today’s (Friday, Mar. 6) Business section.  She followed the print article up with more online thoughts

    Then this morning, a consultant I work with showed me a website, My Sweet 16, that shows the 1st 16-tweets by any given twitter user.  Now that was a little scary to see.  It just goes to remind you that everything you do on the web is out there permanently!  It’s often hard to remember that, but keep it in  mind.


  8. Disney Inspiration for Blog Writing

    March 5, 2009 by Leanne

    A colleague forwarded this article to me written by another blogger about how Disney,  in this case, Walt Disney World, can be a model of success for websites and blogs.  I found it a very intersting read and hope you do, too. 

    Disney: A Model of Success For Your Product or Website

    I do not know the author of this article, just found it interesting.


  9. High Impact Snow Storm

    March 2, 2009 by Leanne

    I was right in the middle of what the Washington Post labeled a “High Impact Snow Storm” in the nation’s capital.  For me, being a Florida girl, it was just a little bit exciting and a little bit scary. Scary only in that I knew I was flying out the next day and worried what the situation would be at the airports, if we could even get to the airport. The snow came much later in the day than they predicted. The major snow fell during the middle of the night, which meant waking up to a winter wonderland.  It was beautiful!  The contrast of glistening white snow against the dark dead limbs of the trees was breathtaking.  It was also very nice to look at from inside a warm condo with a burning fireplace.  Snuggly conditions to say the least.

    Snow at 5pm

    Snow at 5pm

    Snow at 7am

    Snow at 7am

    Me, Mike (Self Portrait)

    Me, Mike (Self Portrait)

    Washington Monument

    Washington Monument

    Dogs still have to go out even in the snow.

    Dogs still have to go out even in the snow.