Boasting with a side of shoe mittens, please

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who called, texted, and Facebooked me yesterday after this post. 

Your support through this rough patch means so much and I am very blessed to have such caring and thoughtful friends and family. 

Really, thank you. 

On a slightly less depressing note, our weekend was really great. We went back to Denver for Keane's company holiday party and as an added bonus, were able to spend a few brief hours with family.

While the bidness man was in an all-day meeting Friday, I ran around town like a crazy person with one mission: to find something presentable to wear to a corporate event at a fancy-shmance hotel. 

Believe me when I say I had zero to pull from up here in Wyoming. No winter dresses, tights or heels to be found in my Casper closet. 

And maybe it's just because I've been living among sagebrush and cows for too long, but the traffic and sheer volume of people at the mall almost caused me a nervous breakdown. Combine that with the time constraint I was under and the price of every dress I picked up, and I was panicking! 

But fear not, Banana Republic came through at the last second and saved the day with a wool number for, get this, 40% off. 

Booya! Gosh I love a deal. Almost as much as I love this guy.

This is where I begin to gush about his past year so if hearing a lady brag about her incredibly accomplished husband isn't your cup of tea...stop reading now.

Seriously, you've been warned.

First, let me preface this story. Keane has been working for his company for two years (three if you count his internship during college). When he was asked one year ago if he'd be willing to move to Wyoming for a short time to oversee the building of a couple projects, he, well we, agreed because we knew it would be a great opportunity for him to move up the corporate ladder quicker. A year out of our lives was a small price to pay for the long term advancements this would likely bring. 

Fast forward to last Friday. Keane was asked to give a presentation at his roll-out meeting in front of hundreds of people, including every executive in his company. Now, if it were me, I'd inevitably land in the fetal position at the mere thought of speaking in front of that many people, not to mention people who were responsible for my future in the company.

Not him though. He faced the challenge and nailed it! Or so I heard from every person who came and shook his hand at the party to tell him how well he did. 

But the highlight of the night was when one of the top execs sat ME down and went on about how impressed he was by Keane. He said that he's "going places" and they are "definitely taking notice" and they "have big plans for him." 

I smiled and nodded and beamed with pride. This, all on the heels of an unexpected promotion last week. We are certainly counting our blessings this year and we're grateful for the opportunities he has been given.

He is modest and didn't want me to write this post, but I felt it was important to share his accomplishments with our extended family and remote friends who may not have heard through my gabby grapevine yet.  

Oh, and I get that it's been a while since I've stayed at a ritzy hotel, but since when did they start providing mittens for your footwear? 

Must be another one of those rich-people anomalies I will never understand.

I'll take my sagebrush and cows over shoe mittens any day.