This year was one of change and growth for me. I look back at the past twelve months and am a little shocked at all that has happened, how my life has changed. In February, Matt and I got engaged. In August, I successfully defended my 76-page thesis to earn a master’s degree in communication. In October, after spending nearly a third of my life at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (as both a student and an employee), I walked away from campus on a full-time basis and joined the Steier Group as a campaign manager. This month, Matt and I began planning our wedding.

Change was definitely (and unintentionally) my personal theme in 2011, and this new website is one more extension of that. I am delighted to welcome you to my new home on the web. After years of bouncing around on LiveJournal and WordPress, at times in a seemingly schizophrenic state of identity and bright colors, it feels wonderfully refreshing to have a shiny new (and more permanent) home on the World Wide Web.

I have Omaha’s own Grain & Mortar to generously thank for this new space. And speaking of changes, Grain & Mortar opened its doors earlier this year. Theirs was a design marriage made in heaven, bringing together Image Made and DownsDesign. I had the pleasure of working with Eric Downs nearly two years ago when he crafted the clever cover for Nerdy Thirty. What fun! It was a delight to again collaborate with Eric and his new team this time around. I couldn’t be more pleased with the final product, and I hope you feel the same.

My new website is a combination of my personal blog and my résumé/professional website. For years I strived to maintain a distinct separation between these two websites. The reason? I can’t really say. However, after experiencing a bit of personal brand overload following Nerdy Thirty, I realized it was time to better streamline my online presence in a more-organized-yet-still-fun-but-not-too-annoying fashion.

Grain & Mortar spent weeks evaluating my current presence on the web and in “real life,” concluding that my new website needed to serve as a central hub to what I do, both professionally and for fun.

I’m one of those individuals who needs to have multiple personalities (in the best and healthiest way possible). This new website is a reminder that I’m a culmination of all the many “things” that I do: a full-time job working with nonprofit organizations, social media, blogger, freelance writer, budding cook and baker, journalism instructor, author, radio “personality” (although I’d prefer a better description of what it is I exactly do on Q98 and KFAB), occasional community volunteer, bride-to-be, public speaker every now and again. The list is ridiculously long, and I even get winded while typing it.

This website is designed to serve as the best representation of who I am, what I stand for, what I do, and who I care about. The design, layout, and other features are creative, pretty, and just plain fun.

And as the title of this blog post suggests, my new website truly features something old (nearly nine years’ worth of previous posts); something new (the pretty design by Grain & Mortar); something borrowed (design and content inspiration from a handful of my favorite blogs and websites); and something blue (the lovely blue hue and other colors throughout these pages).

For those of you who have followed my blog since 2003, I thank you. For the newcomers in the room, welcome to the party and thanks for stopping by. We’re happy you’re here.

Now, what can I get you to drink?