We went to Hawaii!

and here is the play by play as well as I can remember it:

Day 1
Sunday
We said our goodbyes to Cabo and Asia. Sandy would take him to Spot and come feed her every other day. We left for the airport around 8:45 (a few minutes earlier than planned). Thank goodness too because the Publix marathon was happening at that very moment, so we had a few detours. (Leah Winkler was actually running this ->wonder if we saw her!) We arrived at the airport and proceeded to curbside check-in. Then while Matt parked the car, I decided to take a picture of our boarding pass and post it on facebook… we are now officially headed to Hawaii! We then grabbed a little breakfast and coffee and boarded the plane. I guess now is the time when I should’ve said it is official…?oh, facebook...

By this time, we are sitting on a 9hour flight… hoping to nap…. But I didn’t. at all. Matt did. A little. Instead, we watched a couple of tv shows and movies including Dolphin Tale and Friends with Benefits.
We made it to Honolulu... had a little drinky drink at the airport, then jumped on our flight to Maui…

We landed, got laid by our driver, grabbed our bags then headed for a sunset drive up the coast to our home for the week: The Ritz Carlton at Kapalua.

We decided we should probably have some dinner, so we ordered a little sushi at the restaurant in the hotel. It was pretty good… but I could barely keep my eyes open (it was ~2am ATL time) much less eat dinner… so Matt ended up eating a little more than he bargained for...

We walked up to our room, hoping to put on pjs and pass out…but even after eating dinner, our bags were still not there.. oh em gee…so we called and found out there was a problem with the luggage… go figure… I went to sleep anyway :/ …

Then the bellhop came and I had to properly get ready for bed…

Day 2.
Monday
Good Morning, Hawaii! *said my rear to the toilet*… I woke up around 5am local time and couldn’t very well leave the room for several hours… welcome to Hawaii…

But, after a couple of hours, Matt woke up, bought me some medicine then lunch... and we were good to go…Other than rescheduling our Monday morning surf lessons, no harm done…

In the afternoon, we walked down to the Ritz beach and took a nap (on a grassy area before you get to the beach), then to the pool where we met several other Dell Secureworks employees: Paul and Lisa, Yaacova and Kevin, Mahsa and Jordan, Mike and Gretta , John and Chrissy. (Did I forget to mention this was a work trip? Sorry about that. It could’ve been because I’d forgotten myself, until we saw them at the pool…surprise! you aren't anonymous this trip!) We all hung out for a few hours. Most everyone had a few drinks (not me after what had happened that morning) but everyone had a good time!

When we got back to the room, we noticed a basket of goodies from the hotel. It included wine, fresh pineapple, bananas, apples, chocolate covered and regular macadamia nuts and more with a handwritten note from the bus boy apologizing for the mix up with our bags the night before. What a nice gesture… that’s Ritz service for ya…

While we were at the pool, we made plans for dinner: the Plantation House at sunset. It was located on the golf course near the hotel. Gorgeous view! Food was ok even though they raved about how fresh the fish was. Everyone mentioned above except Yaacova, Mahsa and their plus ones went with us.
Though we made it through dinner, we were tired by 7pm…. Still waking up at 5am (ATL time). So, afterwards, we went back to the hotel and passed out early.

Day 3
Tuesday
We made our way down to Buzz’s Wharf to take the Trilogy out to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town for snorkeling. They fed us cinnamon rolls, fruit, and coffee for breakfast… We decided to try out Snuba for the Molokini Crater… it was ok. Not worth the extra $$ at that location. While at the second location, Turtle Town, we saw two large (old) sea turtles and just hung out with them at the surface. What a cool feeling… we got a few good pictures.

We jumped back on the boat and they gave us teriyaki chicken (seems like everyone serves teriyaki here...I think I've decided it 'isn't my favorite'), rice, a taro roll, and a yummy salad for lunch. About 30mins later we had ice cream with chocolate syrup for dessert.

Once we got back to the dock, we witnessed a kid try to steal a bike and get beaten up by an older man (the owner of the bike)->that was interesting… then went back to the room and relaxed for a bit before getting ready for the big Dell Secureworks dinner.

We walked down to the beachside restaurant to notice a little booth setup for everyone to pick out their own pair of Maui Jim sunglasses! How cool! Then we mingled with everyone over drinks and worked our way over to the buffet style dinner. We sat with Andy and Ashlyn Held and heard about their fun trips island hopping around Hawaii before tonight. After a little conversation, it started sprinkling, so we all huddled under the beach bar roof and had a few more drinks before heading up the ~.5mile trek up to the hotel for bed. We were exhausted. Jetlag at its finest.

Day 4
Wednesday
We woke up and walked to Kapalua Adventures for our zip lining experience. We got our safety briefing then jumped in the ‘Pineapple Express’ to make our way up the mountain. That was the scariest part! It was raining the roads were terrible and I was beginning to wonder how much these guys had to lose if the van fell down the mountain...but we finally made it to the top….It was raining cats and dogs, and Matt and I were worried if this was going to be any fun in the rain… but we walked across the hanging bridge over 200 ft above ground and probably 75 yards long…. then jumped in another hummer-esque vehicle to roll even further up the mountain…
The guide passed out the trolleys based on weight, then we carried our own gear to the first zip line. Matt was the guinea pig… the very first of everyone in the group to jump on the zip line… he was a champ and made it all the way across…I was second…and hesitated, but made it…what a spectacular view and experience: to look up and over the town to the ocean and/or look down at a Hawaiian rainforest! Unbelievable really… we zip lined five times before making our way down to the last of them at a ‘swing.’ Kind of like something you would see in Panama City, but this one threw you over a valley and into nothingness instead of over a street. Again: unbelievable! We had lunch (chicken sandwich (thank goodness it wasn't teriyaki), chips and salsa and brownies) then headed back to the building… (where we bought the pictures and a t-shirt for Skip. The t-shirt said “I’ll show you my starfish if you show me your pencil.” Referring to the movements you make while you are on the zip line….)

We walked back to the Ritz…. I got ready for my facial while Matt got ready for his meeting. If Matt’s meeting was even 10% as good my facial… best I’ve ever had…

But then I went back to the room and got sick again for the rest of the evening... Once he returned from his meeting, Matt ordered in room service (kids spaghetti and meat sauce with a sprite for me (my comfort food) and a hamburger for him.) he was so nice about it. … I’m very lucky. Then we passed out...

Day 5
Thursday
We were supposed to go for a sunrise bike tour down the volcano…but given my state of health the night before, and our lack of motivation to meet in the lobby at 2am (among other not so great stories we were beginning to hear about the bike ride) we decided to bail… Instead, we enjoyed breakfast at the Ritz’s all you can eat buffet. It was good, but waaaaay overpriced… I had an everything omelet; Matt had Eggs Benedict and we sampled other items. And… we were able to reschedule our surfing lessons…

WOW! So much fun. After a quick lesson, we went out in the ocean with the instructors. Big waves (3-4ft) and had arguably the best time of our trip. We both got up on the board, but Matt actually did really well! He stood up every time and was able to keep his balance throughout the ride. My surfer dude! This town is where we bought our new Hawaii rash guards and will forever remember it as the first place we went surfing!

We shopped around for a little while then headed back to the Ritz for our couples deep tissue massage. Oh, what a treat, surfing is not easy on your body!

After the massage we had to get back to the room and get ready for dinner with Paul & Lisa, Mike and Gretta, John and Chrissy, Tyler and Leah and Mike and Kathy Cote… we took a car down to Lahaina Grill. Yummy! The table shared appetizers. I had the mahi mahi and Matt had the pokoiki special. Mike C ordered wine: sister to ‘the blue eyed boy’ by marquis Phillips. Then we had desserts compliments of the Ritz. (that’s what happens when you dine with Mike Cote) Then all wobbled home. ... we still aren’t accustomed to the time zone change… :/


Day 6
Friday
After all of our talking about surfing on at Thursday, Paul and Lisa and Jon and Chrissy decided to schedule surfing lessons for Friday…so we dropped them off in the Jeep we had rented and decided to do a little more shopping in that area. We walked around, bought an ornament and a pair of white flip-flops, then began to head back. We were scheduled to hang with the Winklers and Cotes over deep sea fishing for a few hours. So, we got back and changed… then met them in the lobby to find out it had been switched to whale watching and Coleen and her sister were also coming. Yay!
We then set out to sea with packed lunches. We saw several whales (similar to the views we had when we went snorkeling)…but then… closer to the end of our trip, as everyone was looking off the front of the boat, we heard a large champagne cork blow behind the boat (aka the whale blowing out of his spout!) then a huge whale swam right underneath our boat. It is unreal how big these guys are!

Once we got back to land, we grabbed some shaved ice then headed back to the hotel. The sales guys had a meeting at 4pm. While Matt was working, I sat by the pool with Greg Parson’s wife and, among other things, found out about a much cheaper place to grab breakfast: the general store.
Shanna and I laid out for a little while then headed back up to the room to get ready for the big 6pm dinner. We walked down to meet the boys at the beach house, but realized it was way too windy and cold for what we were wearing, so we went back up, changed and walked back down in much warmer attire. The yard was set up beautifully (as if we were attending a wedding) with tiki torches, a bar, whit table clothes and candle lit tables. Tyler and Mike gave their speeches, then we sat down for dinner. Just after we finished our salads, it started raining. So, everyone ran for cover under the bar again… it stopped and we all sat back down… 10 minutes later( long enough for some people to get their food) it started raining again.. harder… and did not let up… what a fiasco… they brought the food underneath the bar where everyone was crowded and wet, to eat filet mignon with our fingers… Then we shuttled on golf carts back up to the Ritz to finish dinner and have dessert… we found out later that this was a several hundred dollar per couple meal that got ‘rained out’…

Day 7
Saturday
We went with the Held’s and Winkler’s on a helicopter tour of the island. Waterfalls, sugar cane… It was gorgeous. The pilot dropped us off the Hana airport where Surfer Sue picked us up in a conversion van to give us a tour back to our airport. We had lunch at a black sand beach and walked around… amazing. Beautiful sites! She told us about the different legends of the island and we sat and listened in comfort. We had plans to go swimming in a water hole with a waterfall, but it was too cold and rainy…
We all stopped for dinner at a place called: iono and topped off a fantastic day…
We then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Day 8
Sunday
We are now officially adjusted to the time change! Just in time to go home… we woke up around 8 and ordered breakfast in while we packed… whoa. I always forget how expensive room service can be... geez…
We got dressed and met our driver around 10:50… with a little extra time to stop by Sports Authority to pick up a gym bag, since we were going to be well overweight on our luggage.

We checked in, grabbed our last meal in Hawaii at “Sammy’s” (Sammy Hagart’s restaurant) and prepared to head back to Honolulu, then to the mainland. We met up with the Held’s at the gate and hung with them during our layover at Honolulu, too. They’re a hoot.

On the flight, Matt finally started The Hunger Games, and I started this blog (until my computer died). Then, I moved along to watch the movie “I don’t know how she does it” and started “Larry Crowne”… I fell asleep during Larry Crowne and was out until we landed at about 7:20am Atlanta time… we made it home safely to find that our house was still there and the only major change was that everything had turned yellow (from the record breaking amounts of pollen) and we had weeds 3 feet tall…(how did that happen? We were only gone for a week!)

We took a little nap, then picked up Cabo from Spot… he was clean and exhausted (just like us)… Now it is time to welcome ourselves back to the real world…

What the world needs is people who COME ALIVE!

Welcome to 2012! A week or so into the year, my mother-in-law asked what my word was going to be…my verb for 2012. A word to guide me through the year. A word to root me. To inspire me. A word that I would like to be used at the end of the year to describe what I did with 2012….

I chose “stretch.”

My goal for the year, my 27th, is to stretch my mind, stretch my body… stretch my limits.

2011 was unquestionably a year of change for me and Matt. In January, I started a new job. Then decided to quit and take another offer by March. I was making good money, but still unfulfilled (one of the reasons I left my job at the end of 2010). Matt was starting school (to get his MBA), and he inspired me to do the same. I wanted to help people. I was tired of… not making a difference. So, I enrolled in some classes to start the change in my career… from marketing to medicine (or healing of some sort).

I quit my second job of the year and took a chemistry and an anatomy and physiology course last fall. Most of the majors I was interested in required both (Physical Therapy, Nutrition, Nursing…) . I made an A and B. Not too bad, but the B in A&P helped me realize the journey I was about to undertake. Do I really want to spend what could be the prime of my life in school…or studying all the time…whichever major I choose will at least be 3 more years…of intense studying...nothing but school... Do I want this THAT bad? Yes, I want to make a difference in someone else’s life, but I also want to live mine. I am a newlywed with no kids. In my late twenties – ‘the clock is ticking.’ Matt and I are fortunate enough to be able to go places and do things for week(s) at a time without having to worry about a baby or the bills (we still pay them, but we are able to do both – you know what I mean.)…

Well… before I officially quit my job, I decided to buy the materials to become a certified personal trainer. My idea was to work in a gym or for myself part time for fun while I went back to school. Being a personal trainer is something I have always been interested in. Fitness has always been a part of my life… and it was always nice to be the one friends came to for fitness advice from high school through college… and even when I started in the workplace… I loved it.

Howard Thurman once said: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

I agree.

On that note, I decided to pursue a career as a personal trainer.

Stretch!

After taking my previously scheduled exams, GRE, and TEAS tests, I took my NASM certification test on Jan 26. I passed… and am now in the process of making it happen. www.fit4yourlife.com

…to be continued…

For the record, I loved "I am Charlotte Simmons"

Yes, I realize it has been a very long time since my last entry. No apologies though, because if I had written one, it probably would have...not been very good. Not because life hasn't been interesting (because it most certainly has been!), but because my mind has been elsewhere, and I would not have given the blog post the thought it deserved. This one isn't going to be fantastic either, but I thought I could at least give two thumbs up to the book I finished back in May, "I am Charlotte Simmons."

This was my description:

I am Charlotte Simmons
by Tom Wolfe

This is another book recommended by Matt… I just packed it in my bag on the way to Deer Valley in case I finished “Into thin Air”…which I did, and began reading the hard copy of I am Charlotte Simmons on the plane ride back. It’s a long book, but I’m only 25 pages in and have a feeling I’m going to love it...time to charge up the nook…

“The novel centers on Charlotte, a naive new student at Dupont University, a school boasting a top-ranked basketball program and an Ivy League academic reputation. Despite Dupont's elite status, in the minds of its students, sex, alcohol, and social status rule the day. The student culture is focused upon gaining material wealth, physical pleasure and a well-placed social status; academics are only important insofar as they help achieve these goals.”

Well, I got my nook ready, but Barnes & Noble didn't even offer it. LAME! So, I read the hard copy and loved every minute of it. I think this may actually be my new favorite book! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I finished it while Matt and I were in Virgin Gorda this May... which obviously deserves its own post...maybe I'll get to it someday...

Happy Veterans Day! 11-11-11

we all have bad days.

Monday, I had a bad evening...came home, did not eat, and wrote a bad blog (complete with obscenities)...I posted it...then deleted it... so, I am replacing it with the lyrics of the first song that popped up on my run on Tuesday evening. U2's "Some days are better than others"... the song says it much cleaner than I did...

...and what's funny is that I don't think I had ever actually listened to the song before Tuesday... ironic, don't you think?


U2 Some days are better than others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfm0nGiN46o

Some days are dry, some days are leaky
Some days come clean, other days are sneaky
Some days take less, but most days take more
Some slip through your fingers and onto the floor
Some days you're quick, but most days you're speedy
Some days you use more force than is necessary
Some days just drop in on us
Some days are better than others

Some days it all adds up
And what you got is not enough
Some days are better than others

Some days are slippy, other days sloppy
Some days you can't stand the sight of a puppy
Your skin is white but you think you're a brother
Some days are better than others

Some days you wake up with her complaining
Some sunny days you wish it was raining
Some days are sulky, some days have a grin
And some days have bouncers and won't let you in

Some days you hear a voice
Taking you to another place
Some days are better than others

Some days are honest, some days are not
Some days you're thankful for what you've got
Some days you wake up in the army
And some days it's the enemy

Some days are work, most days you're lazy
Some days you feel like a bit of a baby
Lookin' for Jesus and His mother
Some days are better than others

Some days you feel ahead
You're making sense of what she said
Some days are better than others

Some days you hear a voice
Taking you to another place
Some days are better than others

my brain has blown away 'Into Thin Air'

SO… I FINALLY finished “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer…

It only took me… oh… 4months… But that is no indication of the quality of the book.. it’s more an indication of my...er.. lack of…er.. um.. I’ve just been lazy. I haven’t been writing blogs, I haven’t been reading, I haven’t been working out.. ugh. I am getting stupid, fat, and grumpy. Ugh.

But I finally finished it on the plane on the way to Deer Valley, Utah… :)

The book was good and sad and true. I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in what happened on Mt. Everest the summer of 1996 and looking for a book to read…

‘Into Thin Air’ deserves a much better review than this… but…I can’t bring myself to think critically, and I wanted to acknowledge it before too much time passed…

namaste

Deer Valley, I am lucky. Love, Tina

Right now I am on a plane, Delta flight 1802 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Atlanta, Georgia. Sitting first class, buzzed off of the Cranberry Vodka cocktail I downed in the Crown Room prior to boarding. I am lucky.

I’ve always (well, not ‘always’-but for the majority of my late teen to adult life) said I do not believe in luck. I don’t really. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Every single itty bitty decision you make every day prepares you, leads you, places you where you are today. Every one. How you dress. How you speak. What you say. What you eat. Everything you do every second of every day effects what will happen the next second, the next day…I believe that. Things happen because of and for a reason. Cause and effect.

But sometimes… I can’t imagine what I have done to deserve the life that I am currently living. I am humbled. And grateful.

Exactly to what or whom I am grateful, I am not currently sure…but that is for another day. Another path. Another story.

For this particular trip, I owe my appreciation to my husband, Matt. Last year, he had a particularly lucrative year work-wise, and to reward him (and everyone else who made the President’s Club quota – which was about twenty others on the sales team) and a significant other, the company treated us to a five day four night stay at the Montage in Deer Valley, Utah.

*Side Note – it is quite funny to me to see how those who can afford a vacation on their own dime are rewarded with nice vacations (or something else expensive), while those who are ‘struggling’ or just not quite as well off have to pay their own way for everything. I guess the title of Truett Cathy’s book “It’s Easier to Succeed than Fail” really is true. I’ve been on each side and can clearly see the rewards of competence, hard work and most importantly - timing. It’s exponential.

**double side note- I just finished a much stronger Cranberry Vodka cocktail (it is 3:22 Utah time, but 5:22 Georgia time…so I can truthfully say, “It’s five o’clock somewhere”…and it’s Sunday…so do not judge me for the third cocktail I am about to order. Thank you.). I am particularly enjoying the pleasure of being buzzed. I would love to be in the state eternally…but will try to refrain from becoming an alcoholic… only for the damage it will do to my waistline… because right now, I think that’s the only harm it could do. I am much more interesting, fun, and insightful while slightly under the influence…

But anyway… about the trip…

The Montage is a brand new hotel… like…brand spanking new. It was finished only two months ago. And it is fabulous. The architecture and landscaping were just right (not overdone. more like a natural, understated mountain lodge)…but the service and other ‘small things’ made it …well… worth it (‘it’ being the money we would’ve paid had Matt’s company not footed the bill). The bathroom tiles were heated (I would love to do this to our house at some point in our relatively distant future. There is nothing worse (actually there are a lot of things worse – but I’m using this phrase for emphasis on how much I enjoyed the heated flooring.) than stepping out of a comfortably hot shower onto a cold tile bathroom floor.); they heated your snow boots, so they were nice and toasty when we were ready to put them on and hit the slopes; they helped you put your boots and skis on if you wanted; they left decadent chocolate covered caramels in a cute little silver box at the foot of your bed during the turndown service…and the food was excellent.

That is just the hotel. Now I’ll tell you about our experience.

The first day.

We landed in Salt Lake City Wednesday afternoon, jumped on the 45min shuttle from the airport to the hotel with several other SecureWorks couples, then checked in. Of course, upon check-in we had an escort show us around the resort… where to go shopping, where to get fitted for skis, where to eat, where to snack on the complimentary s’mores from 4-5 everyday ;)… Then, after receiving our luggage from the bellman, took a nap ((It’s amazing to me how hard traveling kicks my ass. I sit on an airplane for 3hours and 45 minutes with ample opportunity to nap and very limited calories being burned, and all I want to do is take a nap when we arrive. WTF, Man?)before treating ourselves to the s’mores (with homemade vanilla, cinnamon, and peppermint marshmallows) and trekking over to Compass Sports. We talked with the ‘ski experts’ and were fitted with beginner/intermediate skis. Matt owns his own boots and helmet, but I was fitted for those, as well. And, as I’ve come to expect…I had to wear men’s boots because my feet are so damn big… at least they were brand new...

After that, we went back to the hotel and prettied ourselves up for the SecureWorks’ dinner. We grabbed a drink, mingled with the big wigs (who are actually quite personable and a pleasure to be around), ate dinner, and roasted a few more marshmallows before heading back to bed...yes. I realize, it's a tough life...

The second day.

The next morning we grabbed a bagel and coffee at “Buzz,” the coffee/dessert/breakfast shop at the Montage, on our way to pick up our skis and hit the slopes (this became our ritual). I was particularly nervous, as I have only skied a couple of times…and the last time was a couple of years ago… but, I strapped up and hit the greens… it wasn’t so bad, and by lunch time we were skiing blues without falling on our asses… actually I don’t think either of us fell the first day, which is quite impressive in my book considering the level of slopes we decided to tackle.

We pushed ourselves pretty hard for a few hours, then dropped back by the resort to grab lunch at Apex (he had a burger and I had a pulled pork sandwich). Without much ado we geared back up and hit the mountains once again…finally calling it a day around 3:30 and jumping in the hot tub for half an hour. *on the first day, we ran into SecureWorks’ CTO Jon R. both times out and skied a few runs with him…he was a little better than us, so decided to go his own way after getting a taste for our skill level…

That night (Thursday), we had private reservations with the CEO and the other best of the best 2010 performers at Mariposa...cracked open several bottles of Caymus Special Selection and enjoyed a fine dinner with excellent company...It was probably 10pm Georgia time, before we actually started eating, but we all had a blast and enjoyed every bite...before we fell asleep on the 10min shuttle back to the hotel (just kidding - we didn't fall asleep, but we - or at least I - could have...)

The third day.

Friday, we were a little late to the slopes (finally jumping on a chairlift pretty close to 10am)…and I was damn sore. After a couple of hours, I had fallen several times and was losing my sense of fun, so I hit greens back to the resort and walked around in my running shoes…which felt fantastic after wrestling my way around in ski boots and fighting my way up and down the mountain in 6ft skis with sore muscles… but Matt stayed out** and we met back up and ate lunch at the resort pub, Daily’s, around 2 o’clock. (he had fish and chips, and I had a bbq chicken pizza.) We debated hitting the slopes again, but decided to save ourselves for more fun on Saturday (it was getting really windy and the visibility was minimal –which doesn’t make for great skiing), and hit the hot tub once again to treat our muscles… **while I was out monkeying around the hotel, Matt had accidentally made his way to a black diamond and flipped down the mountain with an excellent story to tell.. you should ask...

We went back to the hotel and took a nap… (well, I did, while Matt went to the mandatory employee only meeting)… then headed to Park City around 7pm to walk down Main Street and shop before our 9pm reservations at Zoom (Robert Redford’s restaurant). It was windy and snowy, but we enjoyed ourselves and bought a few trinkets. We met Matt’s good friend (and colleague) Dan B and our CTO Jon R at the restaurant and enjoyed WAAYY to much food… two mac n cheese appetizers, spicy buffalo onion rings, calamari, Osso Bucco for Matt, Pecan Crusted Trout for me, and Hanger steak for Jon and Dan, then we each got desserts…. Jon and I had something chocolate, while Matt had two scoops of ice cream and Dan had cheesecake…. We wobbled home…again...

The fourth day.

Saturday, we got up early and were on the slopes by 9:20…hit a couple of greens on our way to what quickly became our favorite blue, “Nabob,” and enjoyed a couple of hours of this run and “Birdseye”… We felt ourselves getting better and better and loved how wide, steep and not-so-crowded this particular run was… especially in the morning…on the BEST snow yet… but.. unfortunately, I had to call it an early day, as I had a spa appointment at two ;)… we grabbed a little lunch at Daily’s again (he had the fish and chips and I had chicken fingers and fries), and I headed back to the room to prepare for my massage while he went back out on the mountain….

So, I change and get to the spa about 30 minutes early to take advantage of all of the amenities (sauna, steam shower, private hot tub, fruit infused water…you know... the usual ;)… then they called me back to a room with an unbelievable snow covered mountain view… it was phenomenal… afterwards, I ran into a couple of other SecureWorks’ wives in the lounge… I mentioned I couldn’t hang out because of our appointment to bobsled at five required us to be in the lobby and ready to go at 4… She retorted with… “are you going with Dan?”… “yes”… “He broke his wrist…” uh oh… and another story begins…

...to be continued...the plane is descending and our friends Megan and Skip are cooking for us tonight...so it will be awhile..

p.s. sorry for the play by play - but not only am I writing for you, but also for me...so that I remember what we did each day... I'll try to make the next one a little shorter and juicier... and maybe I won't be quite so 'buzzed'... :)

Snowed in...

Soo.. trying to pick up where I left off…

*As a side note, Matt and I finally got his car today. We tried yesterday, but the wheels were not getting him anywhere! It was a little frustrating, quite funny and a touch scary…so I video recorded it. :) He has a very nice car (M3) and we had to rely on my car ( ’06 Accord coupe) to get us through the snow...hm… not sure what to think here…

... Back to Christmas morning…We had a great time at my parents’, and then drove back to Atlanta to spend Christmas evening with his family for dinner. Many years back, his parents came up with a fun way to celebrate Christmas, and I was very excited to be a part of the unique tradition that I had heard so much about. I don’t want to give away the family secrets, but it was a popping good time!

...Coming from my family’s, where my siblings have 4 kids (ages 13, 9, 4 and 2), and there is a lot of music, screaming, laughing and…chaos…pretty much constantly. Then going to his family’s, where his only sister has one little boy, age 1… things are slightly (understatement!) quieter. (I debated using the word(s) more peaceful, but in all honesty, there is something peaceful about kids making lots of racket too…) I am so thankful to be a part of both of these families! Though the atmospheric conditions were quite different, they were both loads of fun!

Meanwhile, back in the car, as we are driving over to his parents’ on Christmas evening, it started snowing! Do you know how long it has been since Atlanta, GA has had a white Christmas??? 128 years according to one of my friends on Facebook! One hundred and twenty-eight years! 1882!

…and mine and Matt’s first Christmas was white!

That’s iconic for us because of more than just the obvious…

Our first date in late February 2009 was in the snow (and you know how important those are!). We had plans to go to a sushi place – I think he was planning for Taka. But, because of the predicted snow storm, many, in fact I would venture to say most, restaurants in Atlanta closed. I double checked with him to make sure we were even still on for the date, and he assured me that his car would be just fine (mind you, it’s the same car that got stuck in the snow two days ago…I guess timing is everything:)). To be honest, I was nervous to be out on the roads in the ‘bad weather.’ However, he picked me up confidently, and as he was waiting for me to come down, managed to find a restaurant that was open...Craft. Only one of the top two nicest restaurants in Atlanta… no big deal …are you kidding!? It just happened that they had an opening, because no one was coming out ‘in the storm.’ We received lots of attention from the staff and had a wonderful time!

*I keep putting the strong comments about the weather in quotes, because by the time 7:30pm rolled around, it wasn’t bad weather at all. There was snow left on the ground and it was cold, but the roads were fine and a ‘wintery mix’ was no longer falling.

Not only that, but our second first date was also in the snow. We were again headed to sushi, Circle Sushi this time. Thankfully, this was over lunch, and the restaurants hadn’t had time to decide to shut down for the day. *I guess you could technically say that this wasn’t really a date, because we were just going to lunch as friends. But this was the lunch that led to our marriage… As soon as we got in the car, ‘our song’ started playing on his radio and everything just fell into place… a month or so later, we were engaged to live happily ever after…

And now for the less mushy iconic snow for me…

Most of you probably know that I have been giving my career a lot of thought lately (why not? Everything else is changing…) Over the last few months, I went on several interviews and talked to quite a few recruiters over the phone. But one day, I had a few girls over for girls’ night. One of my friends brought one of her friends (that I had met once or twice before) and we went out and had a good time. Long story short, the next day, the friend of a friend (who I hope to soon just switch to ‘friend’) sent a job description at her company to me. Seemed like a perfect fit. So after a few conversations, they brought me in for a face - to- face…and whatdya know… it was snowing…

I had two offers, the other of which was much better pay, but I got a very good vibe from this company and decided to accept (snow not withstanding:))…my first day was supposed to be today (1-11-11)…and…obviously…it was snowing… so I couldn’t actually start (This time the roads really are too bad.)…I’m just saying…I have a good feeling:)…and you know what I think about trusting your gut!

Could all of the snow on these special occasions really be happenstance? Yes. But, those are some crazy odds.