Take the Kids to KC

Last week, there was a great article on CNN.com about Kansas City being a perfect summer vacation destination for the whole family.

The article highlighted Hallmark's own Kaleidoscope, where kids can let their creativity shine through craft projects of all kinds, and the Hallmark Visitors Center, where you can learn the rich history of Hallmark and see how greeting cards are created.

Other highlights in the article include: Fritz's Railroad Restaurant, The College Basketball Experience, Science City, and Schlitterbahn Vacation Village.

You can read the full article here, or just come visit us in KC!

Oh, and because summer vacations always remind me of sending postcards back home to my friends, I found some cool vintage Kansas City postcards to share...Enjoy!











To browse more postcards, visit the Kansas City Public Library's Flickr Photostream.

Cold weather cre-a-tiv-i-ty...

...or rather, the lack thereof. All of this snow is doing a number on my skin, my hair, and my creative brain cells.

I was shoveling several inches of snow (and ice) off of my driveway last night, trying not to drop the shovel with my frozen fingers, and it hit me: I need some warm weather inspiration. So, I did a little "online visualization"--a kind of "I wish pixels could be teleportation devices" research that I often do when the chilly weather gets me down. Here's a look:






Ahhhhhh.....I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the ocean breeze, the cabana-boy bringing me another fruity drink. I was almost there...but then I remembered:



this is what my driveway looks like. Lots of shoveling to do, so I'd better get back to it. Guess we can all dream!

Let the road trips begin!

Hello friends! What a time to try blogging -- a time when I will be travelling for pretty much all of the next three weeks! I will try to send you updates from my travels, but no guarantees, especially after August 3rd (you'll see why in a minute). Here's the run-down of the weeks to come:

I leave tomorrow (Thursday, July 26th) for Aberdeen, SD. Not much to do in Aberdeen that I know of, but a friend of my boyfriend is getting married, and we're visiting some extended family too. I will be there until next Tuesday, July 31st.

July 31st-August 2nd I will be in the office working on a recruiting trip to Syracuse University as well as an upcoming program for Hallmark called the Visiting Educators Program... Professors from some of your schools might be coming to visit Hallmark in Kansas City!

Now, for more exotic locale: my boyfriend and I embark on a journey on Friday, August 3rd-Tuesday, August 14th to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We'll be camping, hiking, and relaxing in the woods and mountains for the duration of that trip. No blogging from the woods -- we're leaving laptops and cell phones at home (or at least in the glove compartment of my car). I can't wait to add some pictures to my blog from the trip -- I'm pumped to get going!

Until next time....