Our "Junction to Junction" Snow Walk #wasnow

One of our favorite traditions when we have a "snow event" like we expereinced today, is to go on a snow trek around West Seattle where we live. Last year we ended up helping a gal that had never driven in snow before. But overall, we just love to explore and get out. So, today we ventured to the south to the Morgan Junction for some pizza. The local Zeeks was open and we settled in for our Snow dinner. After dinner we started working our way back home, with our leftover pizza getting the front row seat in the sled. We stopped at a couple hills to give the girls some night sledding on the compact snow/ice...even the small hills were really fast!

As we kept walking, we figured we woudl just work our way to the Alaska Junction (the hub of West Seattle). By this time, Kenzie worked her way into the sled (holing the pizza) and we took turns pulling her through the ice crusted snow. Within a couple blocks of the junction we ran into some friends that had their 4-wheeler out, pulling 2 dog sleds. This immediately caught the girls eyes and they were anxious for their turn. They also needed a "braker" so I got to ride along as well. We werent able to go as fast as the girls wanted to since it was icy, but it was pretty fun. Although, my face was totally frozen by the time we ended our ride.

After a quick "pit stop" at the Junction QFC we turned around and headed back home. We found a ton of icicles which the girls loved collecting along the way and skated our way on the icy side streets. Overall, another successful family snow walk. We didnt plan on that long of an adventure, but we fit a lot in and will remember this one just like all the others.

Making Christmas a bit brighter for another Family – Our Extended Family Tradition

The Holidays are a time when traditions are both formed, and played out. Going to grandma’s house, baking cookies, cutting down the family tree, etc....and our family is no different. For as long as I can remember we packed up and headed to my Grandparents house on Christmas Eve for a BIG extended family get together. We shared food, fun, games, and of course gifts. As we got older, some people moved away and the crowd got smaller some yeara, but we still had our tradition of getting together and sharing the Holidays with each other.

After a number of years of just exchanging gift cards with each other, and following the passing of my Grandfather the summer before, we started a new tradition a few years ago, a tradition of adopting a family in need and spending our time and money on making their Christmas a little brighter. We worked with our Church that helps hundreds of families each year, and picked from a handful of families that they felt would be the best fit for us. Over the years we have helped single parent families, families going through medical issues, and families that are homeless. Each has their own story and circumstances that we embrace and do the best we can make things a littler better.

Usually right after Thanksgiving we contact the Church to let them know we are “in” for another year and they give us a few options to pick from. This year, they started with one, knowing that our family would be the best fit to try and help. It was a family of 8; Mom, Dad and 6 kids - ranging from 2-16. They have landed on tough times, and have been living in a homeless camp. Their needs were minimal; some clothes, blankets, gloves and maybe a bag to put their belonging in.
So, let’s just stop here for a second. Can you imagine this? A family of 8 with no home...a bag for their belongings would be great?

When we heard this, we knew we wanted to help, but a family of 8 was big commitment. Even for our extended family, we were concerned if we could make an impact. Sure, all they wanted was a bag for their thing, but we knew we wanted to do more than that. We reached out to the family and everyone agreed that we COULD do this, so we made it happen. Over the course of the next few weeks, we accumulated clothes, toys, blankets, etc. We also went to a local custom print shop that was able to help us order duffel bags at cost. They also dipped into all their “seconds” and was able to provide even more clothes for the bags.

The above picture are the 8 bags filled to the brim with all their goodies the day before we delivered to the church to then get to the family. Seeing the product of our hearts coming together for another family was pretty cool. I can honestly say, that this is one of the best traditions we have started. It is something we will continue to do...and I would encourage anyone reading this to start this up as well. If you think it might be too much to take on, think through it again....you can make it happen!

Tis the season for application updates - The first 5 days of Christmas

December has been a busy month for application updates, refreshes, etc. As I was listening to some Christmas music the other day, and thinking about this, the 12 days of Christmas "jingle" came on the radio. So, here is my start to the 12-days of Christmas, social media style. I only made it to Day 5, so I would love your help to round it out. Leave a comment and we will finish it!

On the first day of Christmas, Social Media gave me
Facebook Timeline for everyone to see

On the second day of Christmas, Social Media gave me
New XBox Interface
and Facebook Timeline for everyone to see

On the third day of Christmas, Social Media gave me
YouTube Channels
New Xbox Interface
and Facebook Timeline for everyone to see

On the fourth day of Chistmas, Social Media gave me
Brand New Twitter
YouTube Channels
New Xbox Interface
and Facebook Timeline for everyone to see

On the fifth day of Christmas, Social Media gave me
FLIPBOARD FOR THE IPHONE
Brand New Twitter
YouTube Channels
New Xbox Interface
and Facebook Timeline for everyone to see

Post a comment with your other "social media" gifts this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My Top 10 Instagram Photos from 2011

As I have mentioned in previouse posts, I'm an avid user of the camera on my iPhone. I love taking pics of anything and everything. My favorite is probably trying to catch a great sunset...I've even drove out of the way to try and get a great shot. From there, I've become a big fan of Instagram, the filters, the sharing and discovery of other people's pics.

Over the course of 2011 I took over 2000 pictures on my iPhone and from there post a hundred or more to Instagram, so when I recently performed a backup of my iPhone I decided to sift through them all and I came up with the following at my "Top 10" from 2011. They range from one I took on Jan 1st, and another I took just last week.

(download)

Let me know what you think? Which is your favorite? You can follow me on instagram as user "mjandsj" and see them in my twitter stream at @mjtwit

ThanksGIVING - A Time for Thanks, but also a time to GIVE.

With all the buzz around black Friday, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, crowds, travel, and even football, I spent a quick minute to just brush up on my History to refresh my memory on this whole Thanksgiving holiday thing. The depth of my memory was simply that the Pilgrims and Indians took the time to share a meal together. There is of course a lot more to the story, and in reading through the details on wikipedia, I got my 5 min history lesson and got refreshed on a few important facts/details.

Anyway, in that process of catching up on some of the history, one of the key things I picked up on was the following sentence:

“While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish.”

It struck me that at the root of Thanksgiving tradition that we celebrate, was an act of helping/assistance. The Native Americans “helped” the pilgrims and provided them with both materials and skills so that they could provide for the colony. It is this element of Thanksgiving that in our modern age I wish we all would embrace just a bit more, myself included. I’m one of the first people to lace up football cleats for the Turkey bowl, eat WAAYY too much food, and plot shopping trips. While I love, and appreciate the element of “Thanks” what if we emphasized the “GIVING” part more.

One of the awesome traditions that our extended family has is to adopt a family in need around the Holidays. We work with our Church, which helps hundreds of families, to embrace a family that needs some “seeds” like the pilgrims did. What is great about this tradition which hit me this year, is that we work with the Church early to make sure we have all the details on the family by Thanksgiving. Part of that was so that everyone could plan a bit better and ensure we have everything in plenty of time...but I think it is also so that we are reminded about the “GIVING” element of this holiday. While we we have a ton of fun, be extremely grateful for everything we have, we can also focus in on the GIVING part of this great Holiday.

I encourage everyone to give this some thought and consider what can you do to put some GIVING into this Holiday. If you and your family are interested in adopting a family like we have, let me know and I’ll be happy to connect you with the amazing people that run the program at Hope.

Happy Thanksgiving!

#whatviaduct? 5 Theories on why we haven't experienced #viadoom...yet!

This week marked what everyone thought would be #VIADOOM - the chaos and inconvenience caused by the early stages of tearing down the Alaskan Way viaduct. For all the non-locals, the viaduct is an elevated freeway that parallels the Seattle waterfront. It provides an alternative for over 100,000 cars per day traveling north/south through Seattle without using I-5. With the big Nisqually earthquake a number of years ago, the structure showed signs of damage and was a growing risk. Thus the plan is in place to replace it with a new tunnel.

(image via KIRO.com)

So, with the early work now beginning, the viaduct has been shut down that the fear has been that traffic would grind to a halt. However, much to everyone’s surprise (including me) it hasn't been as bad as expected, in fact for this West Seattlite it has been the smoothest two days EVER. So, why? Why has this #viadoom event been a non-issue (so far)? I have my theories, and thought I would share.

#1 - Lots of Warning: The press, TV, blogs, etc were all over this closure. Coverage started week ago and has been a routing part of news casts on a near daily basis. Jenni Hogan from KIRO created a “Survival Guide” with a ton of great tips and resources. Tracy Taylor and the crew at KING5 have a special “Viaduct Crunch” section on their website. Lastly, local blogs like West Seattle Blog and West Seattle Herald have offered many resources to their readers. Bottom line, the message was loud and clear and it got people’s attention.

#2 - Using other Alternatives: Now that people were paying attention, they took the time to plan out their commutes. From when, to how, I think people took notice and when they could, made some changes. From what I have heard/seen, the West Seattle Water Taxi has been packed every day so far. Also, the early hours commute has been busier. There has even been some efforts to promote walking/biking to work. This has taken a number of cars off the

#3 - Less Merging: To put it simply, people are just driving. There has typically been the inevitable jam up as people merge on, get way over to the right to 99, or way to the left to head east on the bridge, then also trying to stay out of the bus lane (see next point). Now, you get on the bridge, get in 1 of 2 lanes and just drive. The number of lane change, merges, etc just dont happen.

#4 - No Police monitoring Bus Lane: Over the last month, a HUGE distraction that has caused slow downs and backups has been the active enforcement of the bus land on the bridge. This lane acts as an “express lane” of sorts for Metro Buses to get to the front of the line. However, the last two days, there has been no police out there....granted, there has also not been any violators (from what I can tell).

#5 - Two lanes at 1st ave Exit and on 1st ave: For me, I am lucky in that I get off the West Seattle bridge at 1st ave. I don't have to go all the way to I-5, which can add more time to the commute. However, today I noticed something...the off ramp to 1st ave now has 2 lanes open, vs just 1 previously. Twice as many cars are now able to exit to the ramp, and then proceed north on 1st ave into the city. Might not seem like a big deal, but I think it has helped a lot.

Those are the top 5 things I have noticed. While I hope this keep rolling on, I know we are not out of the woods. One day (or more) this week will likely not be a lot of fun, but fingers are crossed. What do you think? Any other reasons why you think it has gone as well as it has?

Key success factors for a growing company

This week I had the opportunity to spend a week at the R2integrated company headquarters in Baltimore, MD. It is a semi-annual trip that offers time to engage with our co-workers that are normally behind a phone call, IM session or email. As a remote office here in seattle, while we have our core team, we miss out on being able to engage face to face with all the other smart people in the company.

As I write this on my flight home and reflect on the week, all the meetings, information, events, etc - I feel motivated and energized (even though I didn't sleep well) about being a part of a growing company like R2i. Four words come to mind right away - and they all happen to start with the letter 'P' - that describe the key success factors for a growing company.

People - First and foremost, it's about the people. While it can be easy to look at the product or service to define who you are, it's the people that make it happen. Every person is a puzzle piece and when they fit together awesome stuff happens. Develop them, recognize them, and include them!

Process - Being a growing company, processes emerge that help provide scale and the ability to adapt to change. Some will resist process but the key is how it is rolled out and communicated. Help your people understand the driving forces behind new processes and bring them into how the processes are defined and built.

Passion - From top to bottom, there needs to be passion for what you do and how you do it. I've always loved the definition of passion as: "being willing to give up something in order to accomplish your goal." By assembling a team that shares this value, you can accomplish great things.

Pride - Finally, as a company grows, it is important that a sense of pride exists within the company. You need to feel good about the work being done, and the customers you serve. When pride becomes a key part of the culture it motivates everyone to always put their best foot forward, to deliver, and to support each other.

These things all exist in a big way at R2i and I'm excited about where we are headed. There is always room to grow, improve and raise the bar - both individually and as a whole, but with these four at the core, you have a solid foundation from which to grow. What other factors have you seen are critical for growth? What else would you add?

Connected through Community and Tragedy

This has been one of those weeks, where when you look back you see all the puzzle pieces and you start to put things together. When you are in the moment you don’t realize how one thing relates to another, but they do!

It started back on Tuesday. Steph, the kids and I went to Century Link field to watch the Sounders battle for their 3rd US Open Cup. The environment was crazy, the crowd electric! As we walked to our seats we happened to sit in front of Kenzie’s old soccer coach, from her 1st year playing about 3 years ago, Ed Kingston. He also happens to be the husband of Laura, who is part of Steph’s monthly “bunco group” - something that also gave me the opportunity to hang out a couple time. The game was amazing, and after 2 late goals, the Sounders had earned their 3rd straight US Open Cup. We were hi-5ing people we didnt know, and people became connected through this great celebration.

Then comes Thursday, and along with the R2integrated crew, we held a pre-screening of “Connected” - an autoblogorphy by Tiffany Shlain. It was a thought provoking film that shared a very personal story around Tiffany’s experiences during her father’s battle with brain cancer. It talked a lot about the power of connection, how we are all connected somehow/someway - and that the evolution of technology is amplifying this even further. It was a great film, with a number of messages...I would encourage you to check it out.

As Saturday rolled around, we started our day on the Soccer field. Maddie and her team played a tough game that went down to the wire, and ended with a 4-3 Quicksilver win. Maddie had two awesome throw-ins that led to breakaway goals. What’s interesting about our soccer team is that our Coach, Erik is someone that we are connected to in number of ways...we all attended the same schools, know each other’s syblings, etc. Our team has a number of kids, and families that either go to school together, or have played sports together for many years.

From the soccer field, we headed to the Seattle Lutheran Homecoming game at West Seattle Stadium. SLHS is our alma mater, and while we didn’t have football 20 years when we were there, it was fun to be a part of this exciting time for the school. Unfortunately, the Saints dropped a close one, 23-20. However, it was tough to focus on the game. On our way to the game, I received a notification from the West Seattle Blog about a new post “Tragedy on the Soccer Field” - I quickly opened up the link to read that a West Seattle Soccer coach had collapsed and died while coaching/referring a soccer game. At that time no names were mentioned. Then, as we were walking into the Football game, Steph received a text from a friend that the husband of a friend from the bunco group (Laura) had unexpectedly passed away about an hour ago. We quickly but the two things together and realized that the soccer coach that had died, was in face Laura’s husband, Ed. Ed, who we had just seen on Tuesday at the Sounders game, who was one of Kenzie’s first soccer coaches, who we saw often around West Seattle, our schools, etc.

Since learning of Ed’s death, it has been an emotional roller coaster. From trying to imagine what Laura is going through, to talking with friends, to following the emotions being shared on Facebook, to seeing the outpouring of support for the family. Today we headed back out to the soccer field for Kenzie’s game and it was tough to think that just yesterday, Ed was out on the soccer field with his family and kids, and is no longer with us. As we have processed this tragedy, what has also became so clear is the power of being connected, and realizing that we are all tied together in some way. This might come via living in the same neighborhood, having mutual friends, kids going to the same school, or being on the same soccer team....These are all points that connect people together which in turn forms relationships that further binds us together..and in situations like this brings us even closer together to help each other.

This tragedy will continue to connect people together in the coming days, weeks, months and years. It has reminded us to never take anything for granted, and to treasure the connections you have and the relationships you form. It has provided a huge dose of perspective on the challenges we encounter from day to day. Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura and the family.

CHIRPS

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