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.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Catching up...
Hello again! It’s been almost two full months since I last posted… and, good gracious, do I have a lot to talk about!
So, let’s begin with the end…
In order to close 2010 with the bang it deserved (considering the many life changing events it surprised me with), I decided to go ahead and quit my job (not without two offers to consider -one of which I accepted, of course) and take a couple of weeks ‘off’ to refresh, work on the house, and spend Christmas and New Years with the people I love.
My last working hours at SecureWorks were on December 23, and I had every intention of making a daily habit of blogging, working out, and other things productive. Interestingly enough, however, the two goals that I clarified were the two that I didn’t stick with…argh… That doesn’t seem right- according to the billions of studies about new year’s resolutions and plain ol’ goal setting… but…oh well… it is what it is… and now I have a lot of catching up to do (with the blog AND my waistline - considering all of the delicious sweet treats I did not stop eating over the holidays…)….Catching up sucks. (Unless you’re catching up with old friends or Grey’s Anatomy…)Slimming down the waist line is hard work, and much more fun if you don’t ‘have’ to do it (Unless you’re burning off the extra calories snorkeling in the Caribbean or hiking through the rainforest to zip line in Costa Rica- but then you’re skimping on the alcohol or desserts…so I really wouldn’t prefer losing weight while on vacation... but anyway…)
The holidays were very nice. This was mine and Matt’s first Christmas together, ever! Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? I would not prefer it any other way! We ate too much on Thanksgiving (traveling to both families for meals con delicioso!), and trekked up to North Carolina with his folks and Skip the Sunday afterwards to pick out and cut down our very own live, first Christmas tree! What a great time! The farm was huge and complete with hundreds of gorgeous, full, (<-Kim, notice intended use of Harvard comma), and well-shaped Christmas trees. We had a hard time choosing (just) one, but finally decided and were very happy with ‘the one.’
Though it didn’t appear ginormous at the farm, by the time we got it home, we realized that it was 8ft tall and 6ft wide… We knew it was 8ft tall, but the 6ft wide part threw us for a spin…Big thanks to his folks for hauling it on the Tahoe for us! Though the tree was bigger than we intended, it really worked out well, considering we didn’t have any furniture for the room we were going to put it in :)… It served a great purpose for the month of December, and, after taking it down, I strongly considered finding another (less conspicuous) tree to put in its place…but decided on a bookshelf… I don’t think the books live up to the tree, so unfortunately for them, they won’t live there permanently… but anyway…
Christmas was lovely. Matt and I personalized matching stockings and bought a cute felt one for Anastasia, our cat. I debated personalizing hers too…but decided against it… I’m not sure why and may change my mind for next year… The two of us exchanged gifts on the 23rd, and on the 24th drove down to my parents’ and had Christmas with aunts and cousins over BBQ & Brunswick stew. Yummy - and a wonderful time. Then we had Christmas morning with my parents and brother and sister and their families. That is always a pleasure. This year we decided to do things a little differently and play the white elephant game with the siblings. It was a good time, and I came home with Vodka, coffee and other things that work well with the two…
Ok…I am stopping here for tonight’s blog… Matt got stuck in the snow on the way home from a work dinner, and I had to go ‘save’ him… He had to park about 2 miles away from our house and walk home by himself in clothes designed, well - for dinner - not for walking two miles in snow that comes up to your ankles. It was not snowing when he left and was not snowing where he was having dinner…but the weather got bad quickly and Atlanta is just NOT prepared for the snow…Thanks to advice from my well-informed brother, I called the police and all the taxis listed when you google ‘taxi Atlanta’, but no one could pick him up :( Apparently, the police had real accidents to tend to (Matt didn’t get in an accident but his M3 was not made for snowy weather, and after several tries knew it was better to park than fight with it) and the taxis weren’t getting out in this ‘crazy weather.’ Argh… But he is ok now and we are home in comfy warm clothes, a fire, and wine :)
Until next time…stay warm…
So, let’s begin with the end…
In order to close 2010 with the bang it deserved (considering the many life changing events it surprised me with), I decided to go ahead and quit my job (not without two offers to consider -one of which I accepted, of course) and take a couple of weeks ‘off’ to refresh, work on the house, and spend Christmas and New Years with the people I love.
My last working hours at SecureWorks were on December 23, and I had every intention of making a daily habit of blogging, working out, and other things productive. Interestingly enough, however, the two goals that I clarified were the two that I didn’t stick with…argh… That doesn’t seem right- according to the billions of studies about new year’s resolutions and plain ol’ goal setting… but…oh well… it is what it is… and now I have a lot of catching up to do (with the blog AND my waistline - considering all of the delicious sweet treats I did not stop eating over the holidays…)….Catching up sucks. (Unless you’re catching up with old friends or Grey’s Anatomy…)Slimming down the waist line is hard work, and much more fun if you don’t ‘have’ to do it (Unless you’re burning off the extra calories snorkeling in the Caribbean or hiking through the rainforest to zip line in Costa Rica- but then you’re skimping on the alcohol or desserts…so I really wouldn’t prefer losing weight while on vacation... but anyway…)
The holidays were very nice. This was mine and Matt’s first Christmas together, ever! Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? I would not prefer it any other way! We ate too much on Thanksgiving (traveling to both families for meals con delicioso!), and trekked up to North Carolina with his folks and Skip the Sunday afterwards to pick out and cut down our very own live, first Christmas tree! What a great time! The farm was huge and complete with hundreds of gorgeous, full, (<-Kim, notice intended use of Harvard comma), and well-shaped Christmas trees. We had a hard time choosing (just) one, but finally decided and were very happy with ‘the one.’
Though it didn’t appear ginormous at the farm, by the time we got it home, we realized that it was 8ft tall and 6ft wide… We knew it was 8ft tall, but the 6ft wide part threw us for a spin…Big thanks to his folks for hauling it on the Tahoe for us! Though the tree was bigger than we intended, it really worked out well, considering we didn’t have any furniture for the room we were going to put it in :)… It served a great purpose for the month of December, and, after taking it down, I strongly considered finding another (less conspicuous) tree to put in its place…but decided on a bookshelf… I don’t think the books live up to the tree, so unfortunately for them, they won’t live there permanently… but anyway…
Christmas was lovely. Matt and I personalized matching stockings and bought a cute felt one for Anastasia, our cat. I debated personalizing hers too…but decided against it… I’m not sure why and may change my mind for next year… The two of us exchanged gifts on the 23rd, and on the 24th drove down to my parents’ and had Christmas with aunts and cousins over BBQ & Brunswick stew. Yummy - and a wonderful time. Then we had Christmas morning with my parents and brother and sister and their families. That is always a pleasure. This year we decided to do things a little differently and play the white elephant game with the siblings. It was a good time, and I came home with Vodka, coffee and other things that work well with the two…
Ok…I am stopping here for tonight’s blog… Matt got stuck in the snow on the way home from a work dinner, and I had to go ‘save’ him… He had to park about 2 miles away from our house and walk home by himself in clothes designed, well - for dinner - not for walking two miles in snow that comes up to your ankles. It was not snowing when he left and was not snowing where he was having dinner…but the weather got bad quickly and Atlanta is just NOT prepared for the snow…Thanks to advice from my well-informed brother, I called the police and all the taxis listed when you google ‘taxi Atlanta’, but no one could pick him up :( Apparently, the police had real accidents to tend to (Matt didn’t get in an accident but his M3 was not made for snowy weather, and after several tries knew it was better to park than fight with it) and the taxis weren’t getting out in this ‘crazy weather.’ Argh… But he is ok now and we are home in comfy warm clothes, a fire, and wine :)
Until next time…stay warm…
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