allisonpotter

When Worlds Collide

allisonpotter — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:18:17 +0000

I sent this email to the entire PC team yesterday afternoon. Not sure what sparked it, but I felt the need to share… and now I’m feeling the need to share with you.

Life is good, peoples. Love it. Live it.

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Read or delete at will. Just thought I’d share my belief that life is interesting when worlds collide, for example personally and professionally.

For example, never in a million years did I plan on ending up in healthcare PR, much less ophthlamology. Yet, I’ve had a close connection to it my entire life, having had a pediatric cataract removed.

Also, my job was of particular interest to my grandma and grandpa when I started, as my grandpa has worse vision problems than he is probably willing to admit as a result of glaucoma and cataracts in both eyes. They were full of questions when I started here, and a year or so back when my grandpa received his second trab.

Most recently, my aunt who is ~50 (yet looks great, lucky me to have great aging genes) was recently diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes, one severe enough that she’ll need to have cataract surgery. This is where the “worlds collide” part really comes in… it was kind of neat/ nice to be able to provide some insights and suggestions on what to do, how to handle the situation, answer questions, etc… I hope to be able to help out even more if she has more questions. My existence in life has been justified as useful!

That is all. Nothing else to this story, except that maybe sometimes we forget just how cool our jobs kind of are, and how meaningful they are. We may not be PRing Gucci, or Kellogg’s cereal, but it’s important (and interesting!) stuff. (I’m SUCH a good story teller, right?)

This has been a Public Service Announcement by AP.

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xoxo AP

Whoa. Where have I been?

allisonpotter — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:37:38 +0000

There have been countless times that I’ve thought to myself “Wow, Allison… you suck. All of this stuff going on in your life and you can’t take a moment to write about it on your blog?” Apparently not, and I apologize. I have no excuses, because I could have made the time, I’ve just been filling it with so much fun, and a girl’s gotta work to have this kind of fun, too. In lieu of 849302 boring, lengthy updates, I’ve decided to update y’all by way of a quick slideshow, followed by a few quick updates. Ready? GO!

Click to view slideshow.

Obviously, a lot of other things have happened. I’m doing a lot of yoga, and about to go to Ft. Lauderdale for work this weekend… but some notes to the slideshow, above:

It should be in order of “happenings”
Yes, obviously that is my boyfriend in the pictures. His name is Josh. I’m not one to settle, and I’m definitely not settling. He’s very complimentary to me, and treats me very well. I’m a happy girl.
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling again. After this weekend, I’m taking a mini break. Tentatively until July, where I’ll fly home for my birthday and then up to Lake Tahoe for family vacation 2012!!! (WOOOO!)
While in Mexico, last week, I was selected to run the Nike Women’s half marathon… I ran for the first time in a month two, a measly two miles, but I’ve got to get there somehow, right? One foot in front of the other!

Life is good. I really have no complaints. I’ll keep you updated on my running, and other exciting adventures as I enter my first summer in San Diego!

xoxo AP

Pinterest inspired PB Blondies

allisonpotter — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 01:59:30 +0000

The following is purely Pinterest inspired, and the original recipe with all ingredients and directions can be found HERE, courtesy of Tastebook.

And now, I present to you, my Friday afternoon baking experience, via Instagram…

Brown sugar melted down with butter.

Mix in peanut butter.

Spill the flour on the ground while looking for the vanilla.

Peanut butter blondie batter.

Add peanut butter m&m's with a touch of OCD... ready for the oven!

Voila!

My life > your life. I’m sorry.

allisonpotter — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:42:21 +0000

1) I know I need to post a Valentines Day blog. It was awesome on so many levels, and I’m so thankful for so many amazing people in my life.

2) This is more important. I just received this email in my inbox. I can’t even begin to explain how ridiculous and awesome my life is. WOW.

(FYI… this is the picture of the “friend” that I introduced him to yesterday, with the caption “Domo”… JW has just informed me that the picture of the monster, above, is named “Muffin”. We’re normal.)

Oh… And finally… Just in case anyone was curious…

Mermaid Run San Diego

allisonpotter — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:55:22 +0000

I hate running.

Jen Y, Grace, me and Jen O. All of their first 5ks, and they did AWESOME!

Okay, so that is a lie. I don’t hate running. In fact, I do it relatively often, and wish that I enjoyed running more. There are so many benefits to it, but I always sort of pump myself up and make myself super nervous about it.

Regardless, yesterday, I ran the Mermaid Run in San Diego with my friends, Jen x2 and Grace. It was the first 5k’s for the girls, and they all did SO well. Seriously, I was really impressed with them– Jen Y even ran faster than I did. My finishing time was 28:05, which I was pleased with, and maybe something I’ll aim to beat in future. We shall see!

Oh… Alison Sweeney was also at the race. She’s the host of The Biggest Loser and I MAY HAVE creeped on her to take this picture. She looked so nice and normal.

Surprises are my favorite.

allisonpotter — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:46:53 +0000

I am selfish. I am absolutely in love with anything that is a surprise/ act of kindness/ special thing for me. It never gets old. Today, I got one of the best surprises delivered to me. TWELVE CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS!!!

Seriously… it made my entire week, and I’ve been having a really really really really amazing week. This came in a package from “Cali Dolce” and when I picked up my package, I had no idea who this person was, or what to expect. On top of that, it was from McKees Rocks, which is near Pittsburgh, but not a place I’ve ever spent time…

When I opened the package, there were all of these numbered boxes and a note. The note read:

“Allison,

Open these boxes in numerical orderWe hope you enjoy.

Happy Valentines Day! From: Cali Dolce”

…

but then it said

…

“From: Andy”

A lightbulb went off! I was texting Andy this past weekend, and he said he was planning to make me smile real big this week, but wouldn’t tell me how/when/what… well, this was how, and it worked.

I am a really lucky girl to live the life that I do, with the friends and family that I have. I’m a happy girl.

xoxo AP

February’s Challenge: Sweat Every Day.

allisonpotter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:58:55 +0000

If you recall, my 2012 resolution was to challenge myself to do something new each month. You can quickly check out “Thing #2″ from a past post. I vowed to a 30-day yoga challenge… and I failed. While I’d love to do yoga every day, and DO think that I could, I couldn’t give up 3x weekly pilates, or running (I’m running a 5K on February 11th), and just couldn’t fathom doing yoga each day in addition to that. So I pulled the typical bait-and-switch where I still felt as though I did something new for the month (therefore not being a failure at life) and hiked two mountains. Cowles Mountain and Torrey Pines (slideshow below, but keep reading, too!)…

Click to view slideshow.

…and now, February’s Challenge:

Yesterday, I decided what I’d “challenge” myself to in February. Inspired by Lululemon’s manifesto, I’m going to “sweat every day”. Bring it on, I’m ready.

This actually shouldn’t be TOO much of a challenge, except for the every day part. I think that I have the energy of three people somedays… it’s just a matter of making the time EVERY DAY.

I’ll check in with updates.

xoxo AP

Things I like (right now).

allisonpotter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:15:01 +0000

Some days, I find myself FULL of things that I like, and full of thoughts. Today is definitely one of those days. So, I felt like sharing my “likes” with you, so that (perhaps) you could like them, too!

Two of my favorite things today... no, I haven't showered, no, I'm not wearing any makeup, and NO, I do not care.

Venti iced coffees with just a little splash of soy milk. So what if I’ve had TWO today?
Have any of you tried out pilates before? I’m REALLY digging the teacher I’ve been going to see 3x/week. I’ve also been mixing it up with a 2.5 (the most challenging) class, and a cardio sculpt class, which incorporates jumping with tradition pilates on the reformer. I feel stronger and a bit leaner, if nothing else. Overall, pretty amazing.
Bright pink (fluorescent, perhaps?) nail polish on my fingers. Even if it’s the end of January.
Cilantro & Jalapeño hummus: I scooped cucumbers in this and spread it on a few slices of turkey today for lunch. All delicious.
Strawberry Mango fruit twists from Starbucks. Even if they kind of remind me of the real fruit roll-ups that my mom would let me eat as a snack as a small child, when I really wanted the full sugar, full kid-approved ones.
KIND bars. I always like these, and figure they need a shout out, even if I haven’t eaten them today. Yum yum.
A smile on my face even if I’m a few hours sleep-deprived.
THIS song by Justin Nozuka. It makes me smile. I think it’s pretty.
Also THIS song by Elan… but I might just appreciate it more because I’m not sun-deprived and feel like it’s a super fabulous sunshine-y song.

Neener Neener.

allisonpotter — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:41:23 +0000

Life is good. I have exciting things to talk about, but I’m not able to share them yet. I will, though, don’t you worry. In the meantime, look at pretty pictures taken over the weekend. Hiking Cowles Mountain, adventuring at Coronado, and yet another sunset on the beach in Del Mar. We also had our first Sunday dinner night, with two different kinds of roasted chicken, brussel sprouts, asparagus, and potatoes/carrots/mushrooms, AND *I* made an apple crisp that got rave reviews. Go me!

HERE is the recipe I worked off of courtesy of allrecipes.com (but tweaked… doubled the crisp part, and did a layer on top and on bottom)

…and here are pictures that I SWEAR are not intended to make you jealous, but likely will make you want to strangle me.

Click to view slideshow.

xoxo AP

Flattery is not always creepy.

allisonpotter — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:59:57 +0000

More often than not, I hate cheesy things that guys say. You can generally see right through the douchebaggery that guys spew out of their mouths at girls. But sometimes, when you know the person is being genuine, it is the best thing ever.

Today has been nuts. It’s totally fine, and all good… I just have a million tasks to accomplish, and can’t seem to focus on one at a time to just tackle them. Instead, I’m trying to do ALL at once, and checking back on things periodically. One being this conversation, below, with a friend that I’ve known for a very very very long time (seriously, since I was a little kid).

Friend: you have an electric smile…

Me: that was the best thing I’ve heard in a long time.

Friend: You have a great bone structure. In high school you were cute. The woman you is something pretty special. I have always known you to have at least a couple of relevant brain cells that work at speed.

Me: Awwwwwww. seriously, this has been the busiest morning ever, but just checking back to this you’ve seriously made my week. seriously…

Friend: You should have your week made every week.

Seriously. Ultimate f-ing compliment. I’m a happy girl today. Best part is… this guy doesn’t even want to date me (he lives half way across the country and I haven’t seen him in YEARS). See… genuine! YESSSS!!!!