When Opportunity Knocks...The Semeraros Answer~ Boca Here We Come

It is crazy, yet extremely exciting that I am writing this post today.  The past two months have been a little busy to say the least. I must preface by saying John and I made a vow last New Years to not have any big changes in 2012, to just relax and enjoy.  We almost accomplished that goal until two opportunities came to us unexpectedly and out of the blue a few months back.  Both of us content in our current roles, and blessed to work for great organizations that we loved and valued.  No need to look elsewhere.  Then opportunity came a knocking.  With no regard to timing I must say. 

Before I share the exciting news I have to preface by linking this blog post that was posted by one of my favorite bloggers Emily from Emphasis Added.  I was randomly catching up on my blog reading on a Saturday night back in November right when both of these opportunties knocked. I started reading and immediately had John read along because it was hitting close to home. My eyes actually filled with tears because it was beautifully written and seemed like it was written for us. Anyways, I will tie back that blog post to this post after I give you the news.  Here we go!

Last week I wrote my good bye post to PE. January 7th  I join an amazing organization that is going to change the paradigm of healthcare within the cardiovascular service arena and I cannot wait to play an integral part of my new companys growth.  This opportunity came to me unexpectedly through an email via Linkedin with a conversation request.  I decided to pursue that conversation to get a better understanding of the true reason behind the email request and was really happy I did.  My new CEO and Chairman of the board have been extremely successful. When they described the company to me, what they have already accomplished, and what they hoped to accomplish I realized as difficult as it was that I really wanted to be a part of it.  My internal drive as a professional has taken a whole new meaning since having Jack and becoming a wife so this possible change was not a decision I took lightly.  But the burning passion I get when I really see an opportunity that I believe I can make a difference was evident in analyzing this opportunity. With that said I accepted the position officially a week ago today.  Friday night we had just popped the bottle of champagne to celebrate my new position.....when the phone rang.

A few months back John had also heard about an opportunity that was pretty amazing.  I knew when he got the call that he would get an offer.  It's just how it goes for him.  He is my husband, and I am super proud but he is just that guy that people love......it goes back to what I wrote in my wedding vows.  "You are the most humble, genuine person I know" People latch on to people like my husband because he is real, and passionate, and genuinely cares.  So enough about John, let's talk about the call.  The call was for the offer to be Senior Associate Athletic Director at Florida Atlantic University. Go Owls!  Division I, with football.  Like myself the decision to leave is hard because of the opportunity both of our bosses had given us.  There is a loyalty their,  but the best is the support of the people that have mentored both of us to "Spread our wings and fly".  With this opportunity Johns "owl" wings are about to soar.  It is an incredible opportunity that I know he is going to do an awesome job.


Going back to the post by Danielle from Quarter Life Coe the paragraph that hit home for both of us was this. 

"But when your husband gets offered the exact thing he’s been striving for, and it happens to be in a pretty kick ass place, and your job is flexible enough to allow for it, there’s really not much to debate, you go. These careers we’ve built, they aren’t everything to us, but they’re something. Something that we’ve championed for each other. Something in which we’ve definitely invested. At some point, tacitly, we decided to follow opportunity. And it took us to Columbus and then to Chicago and then it took us here. And I’m sure it will take us elsewhere yet. We’ve seen each other through tough choices and moves, and talked each other through a whole lot of change.  This patchwork geography, this on-the-road team, has been our becoming."

For John and I opportunity took us to Augusta...to Tampa...and now to Boca Raton.  As we made the decisions to both change jobs, and now move the entire time we were thinking about Jack and what was best for him.  We are lucky because Jack is a little man that is resilient, independent, carefree, and happy.  He is our life and all we do and all we work for is for our family.  So as the next 45 days unfold we are going to try and not stress but to embrace the excitement, work hard, love on each other, and enjoy the ride.  

With that said 2 new jobs, and a move welcome us in 2013! It is going to be a great year.....now please say a prayer for us to sell our house.

Happy Holidays!

Love This Article

Great article!   Why You're Never Failing As A Mother

Jack's Favorite Things 2012

I just got through reviewing Oprah's favorite things on the plane this week so I thought it would be helpful for me to share some of Jack's favorite things.  I feel like everyday he takes interest in something new and it is so fun to watch right now.  Through each stage of development he has taken to a lot of different toys.  Hands down any type of ball is his favorite right now, but here are a few he currently has and will be getting from Santa this year!

Plan Toys Dancing Alligator

 

Band In A Box

 

Cozy Coupe

Shape Sorter

 

Basketball Hoop

 

Sensory Balls

 

Cow Wheely Bug

 

Melissa and Doug Board Puzzles

 

 

Whats everyone's kids favorite toys?  I am a huge fan of wooden toys because I want them to last for a long time!  Happy Shopping!

 

 

 

I Love The Holidays

I love the Holidays. Every single second about them, it is the simple pleasures of dancing around the kitchen to Christmas music, snuggling up by the tree with a glass of wine, Jack, and JMS, and just the feeling of nostalgia for life and all we have.  One of my favorite parts of the Holiday Season is decorating the tree.  I am a huge proponent of beautiful ornaments and the perfect ribbon to wrap around our masterpiece.  This year was kind of funny.  When we first moved to our house in September of 2010 we didn't realize how rushed the Christmas season would be that first year as newlyweds.  We ended up doing a little digging in the attic one December morning only to discover a Christmas Tree and two reindeer up in the attic that the previous owners had left for us.  (Maybe not purposefully, but that is besides the point).  So rather then toss the old tree we decided it would be best if we took advantage of this baby and so we did.  Being in Florida and being married to Mr. Safety himself only warranted the idea that a fake tree would be a better option due to climate and decrease in chance of house fire due to a real Christmas tree.  We rocked the decorating of our adopted tree that first year, and last year, and had every intention of doing it again this year until half the lights were out when we plugged our tree in.    The light situation was a problem, that we did not know how to fix considering the complexity of this hard wired tree .  To say the least I decided to take matters into my own hands. All I have to say ....wasn't my brightest idea.  Three electrocutions later I am still alive yet our course of action on our tree definitely changed this year.

We decided it would be best to change the course this year and unload our adopted tree in place of a real one.  See exhibit A.  Excitement Jack had at the tree farm.  Exhibit B.  Utilizing Candy to transport the real tree in order to prevent scratches on our new car otherwise knows as the "big rig".  Exhibit C: A sweet moment with my baby Exhibit D: My boys and our girl taking a decorating break Exhibit E.  The End product......only one word Beautiful Exhibit F. A blinking second of standstill between Palin and Jack. 

Exhibit E

Exhibit F

Exhibit C

Exhibit B

Exhibit A

Exhibit C

Bottom line this Christmas tree adventure is one to remember and in honor of the guy at the tree farm who helped us pick this baby we have decided to call our tree "Mando" after Armando the tree picker.

It Is Never Easy Moving On...But Today I Shall Say Thanks And Tomorrow Celebrate

Today was the hardest day I have ever had in my professional career.  As of this morning I gave my notice to move on from my existing company PE, to a wonderful new opportunity working for NCP. 

Almost four years ago to the date I was at a conference in Philadelphia when a man came up to me and started asking me about the products I was at the time selling for Covidien. I remember thinking this man was a physician and passionately giving him the overview of why our product was clinically better for chronically ill dialysis patients then anything out on the market.  Only to find out this gentleman was CEO of National Vascular Partners.  A company who at that time  I (my naive 25 year old self) did not believe in their business model and how clinical care was provided to patients at the time.  I told him so.  I looked him square in the eye and said "How do you get up everyday and do your job, when these patients are sick and have limited options for care".  Who would have known that assertive, unfiltered comment would end up being a direct introduction to a company and man that has impacted my professional life more then anyone else in my career.  Without getting into details, that comment to this gentleman resulted in a chuckle for him and an eye roll for me.  Yet two months later, the night I landed in Augusta, GA after not seeing JMS in almost 4 years I received an email on my blackberry from this gentleman. The email stated that his friend was looking for a VP of Business Development that wouldn't take no for an answer and had an unmatched passion for what they did.  Apparently my assertive comment to this gentleman at that conference warranted him to think that this person might just be me.

  I will be honest I deleted the email off my blackberry and had the most amazing weekend with JMS catching up for time lost.  When I arrived in Boston after my blissful weekend and fired up my lap top the email from Larry was still there...with a job description.  I opened it up and inside was the JD for VP of Business Development for PE.  Looking for someone completely different then what my resume had to offer on paper.  Yet, I decided it would be cool to be a VP at age 25 so why not have a conversation?  To make a long story short I spoke to Barry Tanner our CEO for the first time on December 24th, 2009.  My first question to him was what was his business model and if it compromised patient care in any way I was not interested.  I got into the business of healthcare to make a difference and this was important to me.  The answer to that question resulted in an hour and a half conversation with a man that I now consider to be my greatest mentor.  By the end of the conversation Barry had peaked my interest. Things were going great at Covidien at this point in time and there was no reason to leave.  Yet, Barry asked me if I would interview with the executive search firm in which I politely declined saying I was heading out on vacation that weekend.  Barry asked where and my response was "Nashville...to visit at that time my "friend" John.".  And so they say everything in life happens for a reason and that search firm just happened to be based out of Nashville.  And with that comment I was on my way to Nashville to see John...and to formally interview with PE. 

As the story goes I obviously moved on from a great company in Covidien with a rock star team that I still keep in contact with and miss each day.  We were one of a kind VE-100.  Then I went to work with PE and now today I move on from PE.  But not after developing amazing relationships, and knowledge from some of the smartest people I know.  In addition to an understanding of today's complexities of the health care market that has prepared me for my next move. As with Covidien I was not searching for a new position when I moved to PE, maybe it was luck that brought Larry Gladstone to me that cool November day in Philly.  In the end PE came to me by chance.  NCP is a similar story, I am a believer everything happens in life for a reason.  Today is a bitter sweet day because I depart from a company I love, believe in, and has been patient and comforting to me for so long.  I am sad to leave my team and the extremely intelligent people that have taught me all I know about the business of healthcare. My CEO has been a mentor and friend over the years and has taught me not only about the business of healthcare and business in general, but about the importance of balance and reiterating the importance of doing the right thing as a business person.  PE has allowed JMS and I to be together, seen us through multiple moves, a marriage, and a baby all with kindness and support that is like that of a family.  I am forever indebted to PE and Barry for all that I have learned.  The opportunity that has come before me and our family would not have happened if it wasn't for Barry taking a chance on a young 25 year old with big ideas,passion, and a voice that was empowered to be heard.

  I have learned so much over the past four years, and have become even more passionate about the healthcare market and what our company does and what my new company will do to make a positive impact both on cost, quality and access for those in need.  I thank you PE for 4 wonderful years, I wouldn't be where I am today without you. I will forever be thankful for all you have provided me both on a personal and professional level.

My Opinion Of The Best and Worst Airlines To Travel

Traveling quite a bit over the past few years for work has allowed me to put together a pretty good list of reasons why I do and don’t like certain airlines.  While we lived in Augusta I commuted to Atlanta where I was super Platinum Delta frequent flyer.  Now living in the Tampa area I find myself utilizing multiple airlines to be able to fly direct to the majority of my work destinations.  When it comes to traveling personally I like most people look for the most inexpensive fare, most direct route, and where I can use my points if I have enough racked up.  As a business traveler I look for convenience and how quickly I can get home to my family.  In the end there is no perfect airline out there.  Here is the low down on positives and negatives of the airlines I frequently travel:

 Jetblue:  I was going to save the best for last but I figured I would start with my favorite.  Jetblue is my favorite for a number of reasons:

Affordability:  Both as a personal and business traveler their flights are always affordable if you book early.  They fly direct to Boston from Tampa, which is the flight I most frequently travel.  In addition tTraveling quite a bit over the past few years for work has allowed me to put together a pretty good list of reasons why I do and don’t like certain airlines.  While we lived in Augusta I commuted to Atlanta where I was super Platinum Delta frequent flyer.  Now living in the Tampa area I find myself utilizing multiple airlines to be able to fly direct to the majority of my work destinations.  When it comes to traveling personally I like most people look for the most inexpensive fare, most direct route, and where I can use my points if I have enough racked up.  As a business traveler I look for convenience and how quickly I can get home to my family.  In the end there is no perfect airline out there.  Here is the low down on positives and negatives of the airlines I frequently travel:
 
 Jetblue:  I was going to save the best for last but I figured I would start with my favorite.  Jetblue is my favorite for a number of reasons:
 Affordability:  Both as a personal and business traveler their flights are always affordable if you book early.  They fly direct to Boston from Tampa, which is the flight I most frequently travel.  In addition
heir flight times are conducive to people traveling with children.  IE: 7:44 PM direct to Boston, can someone say bed time for Jack Jack!

Snacks:  Hands down the best complimentary snack options in the sky.  Because of Jetblue Terra Blues and Pop Corners are a staple in our pantry.  Never mind the fact they give you mini bottles of water and as many as you would like.  It's the little things that make a big difference :)

Customer Service:  Jetblue flight attendants (except  for the guy that jumped out of the plane last year) are typically awesome.  There is this one flight attendant that is particularly by the book on that direct Tampa to Boston flight that is although a little scary. 

Delays/Standby:  I have never really had to go on standby for Jetblue flights, but in terms of being on time in all of my cases I have had good experiences
CON’s:

No Sky Club

No First Class Upgrade

No priority boarding

 Delta:

Affordability:  Hit or miss depends on where you are going. 

Customer Service: Hit or miss.  Delta is horrible when it comes to overbooking. Don’t even think that you are going to get on an earlier flight unless you are the CEO of Delta or the President.  They have really screwed up over the past few years with their customer service on this.  I find every time I fly Delta I am typically frustrated by this, which makes me avoid Delta at all costs these days.

Delays/Standbys: Likely to be on time but they build in tons of extra time into the actual total flight time to make it look this way.  If you are flying Atlanta to Tampa on Delta you are likely to be on a 30 minute longer flight then if you were flying Airtran.

Sky Club-  Delta has a great sky club with great food and drink options.  But who really wants to hang out in the Airport anyways?

Delta Skymiles- Easy to use and an inexpensive to cash in points

US Airways:
Horrible planes, I get nervous every time one of those babies fire up the engine.  Never been a fan, horrible miles program, pretty much do not like anything about US Air.

Southwest:

Affordability: They are great, and the best part if you don't have to pay a change fee if you need to change your flight.

Customer Service:  The rewards speak for themselves

Rapid Rewards: Great program, no black out dates, and if you fly enough your husband can fly for free!

Delays/Standbys:  Excellent execution, never had an issue.  Now that Southwest has acquired Airtran I was even more recently impressed when they still flew John and I from San Antonio to Houston despite being literally the only 2 passengers on the plane.  Well done Southwest, well done!

CON's: Cattle line boarding, never will like it
No upgrades

These are the 4 I travel the most, I would welcome any other thoughts or feedback.  With it being a busy time of year I thought I would enlighten everyone and at least warn you of the good, bad, and ugly of what to expect if you aren't traveling every week like myself.

Cheers to the weekend!

All I Want For Christmas

Ok so my favorite Christmas song of all time is Mariah Careys "All I Want For Christmas Is You".  We rock some pretty awesome dance moves to this song on a daily basis in our house to this song.  One of my favorite bloggers posted this video yesterday and I had to re-post.  Jimmy Fallon cracks me up 1. Because he is just a funny guy 2.  I love that he is playing the same instruments that we also play in Jack's room with our own little band in this video.  Auntie Naya got Jack the xylo-phone for his birthday and it is his go to, except when he is fighting me for the tambourine.  He still needs to learn thats his moms territory.  May have to slip another tambourine under the tree this year for the little guy.

Jack Spends Five Days With Grandma and Papa

The only way to describe the week would be this picture. 

 Just Kidding.  I have to thank the in laws for taking our little man for almost a week while we were able to get away for a much needed mommy and daddy time.  I know that grandma and papa had a great time with Jack, and he did too.   Jack is now addicted to breadsticks, ice cream, and apparently dog food :)  Also thanks to Papa we have a giant box of fake golf balls to feed Jack's obsession with golf balls.  I now spend my mornings and evenings picking up golf balls all over our house.  As you can see what  I am dealing with below. 

Jack also enjoyed playing with all the dogs, and the dogs surely enjoyed Jack being there as well.  If not for an extra playmate..definitely the extra food

Jack also got to spend an extra special day with his Aunt Amanda who spoiled him rotten.  It was awesome to see how much fun Jack had with the grandparents.  He was pretty excited to see mom and dad though:)  At least he acted like he was.  Thanks again grandma and papa!

Thanksgiving Recap

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for Team Semmy!  We have been in 5 states and 2 countries.  More posts to come on our adventures.  But I wanted to start with Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving has always been my favorite Holiday but this year was extra special.  Being away from both of our families is often times very difficult.  Although we live in an great neighborhood with so many people that are like family to us, we still miss ours very much.  Especially around the Holiday season.  This year was special because it was the first time Jack met John's side of the family.  The Martin clan.  We traveled from Tampa to Nashville to make a pit stop to pick up Papa Sem and Uncle Ben and headed up to Louisville for the turkey day festivities.


We started out going to a beautiful mass at Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave's parish St. Michaels.  It was lovely to enjoy that moment with family and thank god for all that we have in our lives.  Then we headed back to Aunt Linda and Uncle Daves to spend the night and prepare for the festivities.  Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave live on a beautiful stretch of land in KY and they have cows. Which I think is totally cool, everyone else thinks I am a wacko for my fascination with the cows.  I guess it is the Bostonian in me.

One of my favorite traditions is that the men make Thanksgiving dinner while the woman get to sleep in.  Well most woman...Jack was calling for momma at 6:00AM so we decided to join in the fun. A few snapshots of the serious nature of dinner preparation below.



 We had a fabulous dinner, Jack met his cousins, and John and I got to have a heart to heart about life with Uncle Dave and our cousin Danny that we will never forget.  It was really special to spend that time with them the night before turkey day.  John drank great bourbon, kids danced, we thanked god for his gifts, rolled through the country side on a super fun hayride, mooed at cows, passed out for a post turkey dinner nap, and enjoyed the warmth and love of those around us.  It was perfect. 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few photos from our hayride....it was so cool to be out on the open plains, a tractor, a hayride, family, and of course the cows.   Trying to get Jack to smile for pictures on this hayride was next to impossible.  He is incredibly inquisitive and when focused doesn't stray from his serious side.   I have to admit Jack loves "mooing" these days.