Author Archives: Liz

Social Media and Gift-Giving

Posted in Gift Ideas by

By now you  guys know that two of my loves are social media and finding the perfect gift, so I was excited to see that these two worlds came together on my favorite website- Etsy!

They have an application (not sure if it’s new or been around awhile) that helps you navigate the often perplexing world of choosing a great gift using Facebook!

When you click “gift ideas” on their homepage, it takes you to a screen that let’s you choose a friend on Facebook. Then based on the details of that friend’s profile (their likes, favorite activities) it pulls gift suggestions from Etsy.

Here’s what it looked like when I searched for gifts for my mom:

Etsy Gift Giving Tool

The tool works best if you’re adding a friend who has their profile filled in with a lot of their interests. Now, not everything they share is something my mom would want, but immediately I get some ideas for custom-made bird houses and a cute case for her reading glasses.

I love this product because when it comes to picking out a special gift for someone, it’s important to keep in mind what interests, activities and hobbies are special to them. If they’ve taken the time to put it into their Facebook profile, chances are it’s genuinely something they like.

Plus, navigating the endless treasures on Etsy can be a little daunting, so I appreciate the thought-starters they give you. Try it out and see if it captures your Facebook friend’s taste!

What Drives a Man to Approach a Woman?

Posted in Daily Musings, Dating, Love by

This morning on the way into work, I was listening to the Wild 102.9 morning show on the radio. They were talking about a new study that Ok Cupid released about dating. I can’t find the study online, but the jist of it is this:

Men are more likely to message/approach a woman who is moderately attractive vs. a woman who is beautiful because the chances of rejection are lower and therefore less of a threat to their egos.

The men who called into the show backed up this theory, saying they don’t bother hitting on a girl who is a 9 or 10 because they’re sure she has men lined up around the corner, and they don’t want to waste their time with a girl who is in demand.

The women who called in expressed their frustration revealing that in fact, the beautiful girls are rarely if ever hit on while their less-attractive counter-parts are the ones with guys lined up.

This whole debate hit home for me. During my single years, I too was plagued with the “never gets hit on” disease. It was really frustrating! I couldn’t understand what was different about me from my friends that led guys to avoid approaching me.

I was told that it was because I was “intimidating” with my height (5’11), trendy clothes and outgoing personality. I always felt annoyed by that….what was I supposed to do? Make myself more plain jane just so I didn’t scare the poor, frightened men off? :)

Eventually I stopped waiting for the guys to come up to me and took the situation into my own hands by casually striking up a conversation with a guy I was attracted to.

Once the initial conversation was started, it always went well and usually ended up in a date or future contact, but it bothered me that I had to do all the initial work.

Even with Luke, I had to ask our mutual friend to introduce us when I noticed him looking at me, but not making a move. He claims he would have come up to me eventually, but I have my doubts.

So what do you think? Do men really target modestly-attractive women over more striking ones? Or is that just something women who don’t get hit on tell themselves so they feel better?

Men- what drives you to approach a woman? When do you stay away from a pretty girl?

The Final Piece of the Puzzle

Posted in Liz's Life, Married Life, Moving by

Luke, more so than anyone, has felt the most stress from this move. It’s not easy to lead the charge on packing and moving 1,900+ miles, buying cars, getting acclimated to a totally different lifestyle – AND worrying about finding a new job (esp while your wife is MIA working her butt off).

I think it’s no secret that for a man, a lot of his self-identity is tied to what he does for a living. That’s why I know it was incredibly hard for Luke to give up his job in Chicago to let me pursue my dreams here at Heavenly. Not many guys would do that.

He’s been not working for about a month now, and while he has been taking advantage of the time off by skiing nearly every day, I know the anxiety and worry was weighing on him.

That’s why I’m so happy to share that he was offered and accepted a great job yesterday! He’s going to be a senior accountant with a young, fresh company in the gold-mining industry. The job will involve some travel to Mexico, international accounting and many really great benefits.

I’m so proud of him for securing not only a job during a time when unemployment is so high, but a really good job at that! He’s a pretty remarkable guy.

This was the final piece of the puzzle for us before we could relax and really enjoy our new lifestyle. It’s all smiles from here…

My Name is Liz, and I’m an Athlete

Posted in Liz's Life by

Growing up, if someone asked me to describe who I was, one of the things I would say was “I’m an athlete.” I played pretty much every sport I can think of – softball, basketball, swimming, tennis, diving, cross country, skiing and of course volleyball.

Being a sports competitor was very much a part of who I was through high school, where I played varsity volleyball, into college, where I was an outside hitter at LaSalle University. I lived for sports and it defined who I was up until I injured myself and decided to give it up to become a “normal” college student.

I remember when my volleyball days were over, I was devastated to think that the part of my life where I qualified as an athlete was done. I thought that if I wasn’t playing at an elite level, then I wasn’t really in that group anymore. I was too old to learn and master a new sport, so what was the point in trying?

Living in Lake Tahoe, I’ve quickly realized that athletic competition doesn’t end when you graduate high school or college. People I am meeting are not only incredible skiers, but they excelled at many other sports as well.

Take my boss for example, the guy is a world-class  snow skier, water skier, triathlete AND bike rider. He rides his bike AROUND Lake Tahoe – that’s 72 miles folks – in 3-4 hours flat on a regular basis.

Other people I’ve met are  golfers, dancers, hikers, rock climbers…it’s pretty awesome having so much athletic ability and passion around.

I’ve found renewed interest in practicing and perfecting sports. I’m taking ski lessons and pushing myself to become an amazing skier. I’ve also set a Summer goal to become a great golfer. And not forgetting my first sport, I’m researching competitive volleyball teams to join.

It feels really good to be getting the athlete in me back. I hope she sticks around for a long time!

What sports do you participate in? What ones do you wish you still did?