New House -- New Post!

So, it's been awhile since I blogged. But better late than never.

I've lived in DC for almost one full year. I think I arrived around August 7th which is a little more than a week away. And as my time at the Quincy Home for Wayward Boys comes to an end with Lyndsey and Anders I am so thankful for the time I have gotten to spend in DC with the WTFs. It truly feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so grateful for the past year. I can hardly believe it has been a full year since I left California. Most days it feels like it has only been a couple of months.


Ryan and I were able to find a place to rent on very short notice ! I think it will be a really great fit for us for the next year. It's a cute two-story townhouse, two bedroom/two full baths with a nice backyard for cookouts and even doggy-door access for Grace in Columbia Heights. I'll attach some pictures more pictures:



It's two blocks from the Columbia Heights metro station, two blocks from the new Target and shopping area, two blocks to a grocery store, one mile north from the 930 Club and some fun gay bars, and one block from the Wonderland Ballroom! It doesn't have huge square footage (e.g., the kitchen is very narrow) but it has in unit washer and dryer, access to a parking space in the back, and ample street parking out front. And the street (Sherman) is undergoing beautification to make it more accessible for walking and less traffic.

All in all, the housing search ended up not being too bad. Despite a very competitive market. One landlord told me that in less than 24-hours of having an ad up he had received over 80 inquiries. Ryan and I ended up emailing about 20 places, visiting about five-six, wanting to apply to two, actually applying to one, and landing that one within six hours! I am glad that now I have something to blog on our brother-sister blog at last!

Birthday Party Pictures!

Anders birthday was a huge success. I didn't outsource anything and instead tried 4 new recipes, which are were great. I failed to take any pictures of what I made, but the food looked just like this montage below... YUMMY.

I made apple and blueberry french toast casseroles, spinach bacon quiche, broccoli cheese quiche, Betty crocker box mix cupcakes (high class) to name a few. The apple french toast was a huuuuge hit! Trust me, you should go make it right now!

To really get the party started I also decorated the house with balloons, streamers and confetti. Unfortunately for you, my loyal blog readers, I didn't take pictures of the decorations either. However I looked just like this:

Super glam. And perhaps a little like prom?

Anders had friends from near and far come to celebrate his big birthday! As always our friends are a rocking good time. Luckily I was able to snap one picture of our guests Clearly these ladies were really having a blast! What can I say? We throw awesome parties. So perhaps this wasn't actually taken at Anders birthday. But it could have been because we had this much fun. And it is possible that my outfit looked just like that lil' cutie on the left! Or maybe I just wished it had. You go girl!

Happy weekend everyone!

Birthday Party

The past few weeks have been flying! I had a low-key birthday last week and am planning a BIG ol' birthday for Anders. Tomorrow my sweet husband turns 30! Personally, I thought turning 30 was the best. Seriously, our 30s are going to be totally AWEsome! Work, life, family etc. Its all going to really get moving and shaking this decade.

Unfortunately, my little squashblossom is at a very intense work retreat in Chicago until late tomorrow night. So no big suprise party or night out on the town. Instead we will be having an awesome boozy brunch celebration on Sunday. Yummo breakfast food, lots of friends and mimosa galore! It should be very fun!

I had dreams of baking quiches, muffins, casseroles, etc from scratch. However some other very big life changes (more details soon...and no mom - its not a baby) are taking priority this week. I could seriously spend all day on tastespotting.com obsessing about new dishes to try. I am sure I will make some of it - but I think my good friend Whole Foods will be taking on major elements too.


Anders and I often think back fondly to his 28th birthday. My birthday is just 11 days earlier then his- and that year he took me to one of DCs nicest resturants. Just a week and a half later I planned a verrrry romantic date. I took him to Taco Bell, gave him a giant dollar bill necklace to wear, and topped the night off with seeing Notorious (the inspirational film about the life and death of Biggy). We both had so much fun - it seemed clear that we were just meant for each other. The next day followed with this special email from me:

Who doesn't love a talking taco? Hoping we can make 30 even better!

War Eagle!

I am just so excited about the BCS championship tonight ! Auburn has such a tender place in my heart! The summer I spent working at AU orientation program was just magical. I cant picture my life without those months at Auburn and the amazing people I met there. I believe in Auburn and LOVE IT!


Everyone should spend at just a little bit of life in Alabama.






Beautiful Auburn University

Momma G's - known for their nachos (made out of Doritos and pepperjack singles), a really terrifying bathroom, and some of my best nights at Auburn. Basically amazing.


Two very important items here: #1: Toomers Corner - a landmark at AU. #2: One of my best friends in the world Sus. She and I clicked instantly and lives were changed forever (specifically mine). She connected me to so many awesome friends at AU, rocked my summer/my whole world and taught me the fight song. Auburn would be nothing without her!

Happy 2011!

Happy 2011 everyone! This week has whizzed by and I still have yet to sit down and make any resolutions. I love this poster from idea-obsura, so I am feeling inspired to make some changes this year! Generally my resolutions are an epic fail - but I still like taking a little time to think about how I can improve in small ways. Lets take a walk down memory lane and explore a few resolutions that didn't quite blossom as I had hoped:

New Years 2006 - Stop killing bugs.

I was living in South Carolina at the time, and you don't want to even get me started on palmetto bugs (aka really big roaches that are EVERYwhere). I was killing bugs at such a rate, I was starting to worry about karma. The new rule is no killing bugs outside. If you are in my space - its fair game. RIP any bugs I accidentally stepped on in the past 5 years. You're small and I didn't mean it!

New Years 2007- Stop taking the stairs, instead ride the escalator.

I take the stairs. It doesn't matter how long the escalator is, I walk. But one day in 2007, I just rode. It was so peaceful, so zen-like. All of my worries just faded away. This happened around New Years and I vowed I would never walk on the escalator again. Its seems very counter intuitive to make a resolution to stop exercising, but I did it. My fast paced, city commuting was stressing me out. So I wanted to take a minute to just relax, and collect my thoughts, and generally slow down. It lasted exactly two days. My back-side is thanking me.

New Years 2008 - Do a push up

I have never had Michelle Obama arms. I don't know the glory of a chin-up. And in 2008 I wasn't sure I could do a single push-up. Well, that's not exactly true, I could do a push-up, but I wanted to be able to do a full set of 30 really beautiful, perfect, fitness model push-ups. I never quite got there, but I stuck with it for quite a long time. I can do a good looking push up now (just a handful - I'm not superwoman!) and a full set of good looking lady push-ups. And really, who needs to do push-ups anyway?

New Years 2009 - Start eating red meat and pork

This also seems sort of anti-New Years, since my resolution may have directly contributing to clogging my arteries. Luckily for me, I couldn't really keep it up. Many of my friends know about my traumatic 7th grade field trip to the pork farm. Long story short, I became a faux-vegetarian. I could never really commit because I like wearing leather and have a soft spot for turkey sandwiches. After 17 years (yikes, I'm old!) of what ultimately was picky eating I said "Enough is enough! Eat that soup with bacon bits, have a hamburger already, pork chops are great!!!" Well I have done a few of those things over the past few years - but never with much gusto. While I am not nearly as picky anymore, suspicious meat and Lyndsey just don't get along. My husband cries at night because of it.

I will keep you posted about New Years 2011! I think it will involve reading more books and not jaywalking in the city so much! Anything I can do to help my chances of being smooshed by a bus!

Lately

Lately, this is how I am feeling all the time. Filled to the brim with joy. Totally overwhelmed with love. It just was too easy to pick the perfect holiday card for us this year. One word, one picture, simply summing up 2010.














(We are still updating our mailing list - so please email me your address if you didn't receive one!)

Ode to the Fit!

Anders brought many wonderful things to our marriage! Happiness exuding from every pore, kindness beyond belief, a crockpot, and an adorable little Honda Fit. When we first met, I honestly wasn't too sure about the car. It is tiny, bright red and a hatchback - three things that don't immediately sweep me over. However after one day of driving it I was sold. It had pep and attitude. Push-button windows and one of those "beep, beep" car remote unlockers. For someone who was still driving the Dirty Civic from 1999, crank windows and all - this was very high class.


My love affair with the Fit didn't end there! We pushed that little car to the limit - loading it with a yard full of mulch and sod, so heavy the wheel wells almost touched the tires. We were able to fit our dining room table and six chairs in the Fit. I think Anders and I have talked three friends into buying Fits! If it isn't already clear...I LOVE THIS CAR!!




So you can just imagine my horror, when yesterday I got the Fit in its first big accident! Big might be an exaggeration, but accident none the less! It did prove that the Fit loves me back, because it blew an airbag to protect my little dome. Luckily, it was a pretty minor bumper to bumper hit, so the airbag wasn't actually needed, but an airbag to the face can really shake a girl up. In the end, it could have been much worse. I was totally fine, as were all of the passengers in the other car. Minus the airbag, and a slightly off-kilter bumper you could hardly tell the Fit had any issues. The Jetta didn't do as well, but the owner was so nice about the whole thing. And best of all - my sweet husband came rushing to the scene was just awesome and so supportive the whole time. He didn't even make me feel bad about testing the airbag and the fact that our insurance will undoubtedly get hiked!


So my friends, safety first this holiday season while driving! Please don't zone out while thinking about cooking a turkey, like I did!

Hello holidays!

We are just up to our eyeballs in holiday cheer! Add to that just a dash of over scheduling and you have the chaos that is the next two weeks! I love this time of year, but it always feels completly crazy! Things got into full swing this week where we went with a big group of friends to see A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like 30 of your closest friends causing a ruckus in the balcony!

After a big night out on the town with friends, we followed it up with a Saturday fit for an old married couple. We went furniture shopping and after weeks of research finally bought a couch! And, man oh man....it is going to be sooooo nice. Big, soft and cushy! Everything you could dream of and more, if you've been like me and have been dreaming of couches.

On Sunday we went to the Army Band Christmas Extravaganza 2010 with some friends. It was at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall, which was just beautiful! It was hard to drag myself out of the house on a cold, rainy afternoon, but I am so glad we did. It was just awesome event! It will definitely be working its way into our annual holiday tradition rotation!

All of this holiday goodness is followed up with a JMU Alumni Holiday party tomorrow at Blackfinn. I am so excited to celebrate with many of my favorite JMUers, some of which I haven't seen in years! GO DUKES!

++=LOVE

But wait...there's more! Did I mention we are hosting TWO holiday parties next weekend?

And babysitting my 3 cousins all under the age of 7 (eeks! Any ideas for an afternoon of fun)?

And hosting my Women's Leadership Retreat at our house?

And going to a wedding shower in Richmond?

Add to that more Christmas shopping, goodwill purging, house cleaning, Christmas cookie baking, wrapping, traveling to Illinios, and fixing a small leak in the roof!! Yeah - its going to be a busy couple of weeks! I simply have to be thankful. My problem is too many good things, and not enough time. We are am overwhelmed with blessings this holiday season, and that is a very, very lucky place to be.

My mother-in-law...

This sums my mother-in-law Nancy up just perfectly. Full of energy, enthusiasm, and fun. On thanksgiving day we went to the field across from our house. First she just wanted to play with Hux. Then she wanted to play frisbee and football. To round things out - she just wanted to see if she could still do a cartwheel. She did three. Anders almost had a panic attack. No bones were broken in the making of this film!

Holiday cards...

Thanksgiving was a hit! It was so fun to have everyone together for a weekend filled with good food, games, movies, walks, wine and lots of family time.

I also was able to check the ol' holiday card off the list. This will be our first - and I am pretty excited about it! I found this awesome website http://www.minted.com/ and there were so many designs I just loved. You will just have to wait to see the final selection in your mailbox, but these were some of the ones we considered:

We also created a Top 10 of 2010 for the back of the card. I was inspired by this funny top 10: http://www.hellolucky.com/wordpress/?p=6081 . What would be on your list?

Thanksgiving

I am really excited about Thanksgiving about this year. It is my absolute favorite holiday. The food, the family time, the chance to think about the things that you are thankful for. It is just perfect. We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house with both sets of parents, Drew and some family friends.


In fact, I am so excited about Thanksgiving I woke up at 6am to make not one, but two types of cranberry sauce. The first is sort of a cranberry “slaw” and the second is a cranberry-raspberry compote. I am not particularly good at following recipes. I tend to just throw things together until it tastes good to me. It’s a cooking style that serves me well, but can be sometimes a challenge to duplicate. However, these are so darn easy I thought I would share.

Cranberry Slaw
1 bag of fresh cranberries
1/3 cup of orange juice
1 orange – grate a bit of the peel zest
¼ to ½ cup of sugar (or more!) to taste

Throw it all in your food processor and chop. Just a few quick blends will get it to the right consistency. You want to be able to clearly see some fine white and red parts remaining. Be careful not to over chop it and turn it into a soggy pink mush! This is great for cranberry purests. This is my mother’s recipe, because she definitely falls into the cranberry purest category. Varieties have included an chopping apple slices in with the rest of the ingredients, or mixing in pomegranate seeds after the rest has been chopped. Yummo!

Cranberry-Raspberry Compote
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup of water
¾ of a cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of orange juice
1 container of raspberries

I just made this recipe up, but it was pretty tasty this morning when I was done. I am looking forward to trying it out on Thursday. Add the water and sugar together and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries – I blended about ¼ of them in the food processor, and left the rest whole – so it would be a chunkier sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a slow boil for 10 minutes or so. You want to make sure you regularly stir this mixture. It seemed like the sort of sauce that could burn easily. Once the cranberries have softened and some have burst, add the raspberries and keep on a low boil for another 5 minutes. After the raspberries have cooked a bit, take it off the burner and transfer to a storage container. I would let it cool completely before you serve it!

That’s it! I will be serving cranberry sauce three ways on the big day – both of these, plus a can of the jellied stuff. You just can’t knock the classics!

Hello again world...

So much has happened since last I blogged. All of the things in life seriously swallowed me up, swirled me around and then suddenly I am on the other side! There are plenty of things that have happened over the past 6 months or so - but the BIG ones are:

1. We are MARRIED! While I didn't love wedding planning - it was worth every bit of stress, money, tears, frustration, excitement etc. It was a perfect weekend, perfect ceremony, and a real celebration! I am thrilled to spend the whole rest of my life with Anders! To put it quite simply - he is just amazing.

2. Drew is living in DC! In our house! Right down the hall! Perhaps my new found desire to blog will get Drew back on the wagon too? We shall see. It has just been so much fun. Anders summed it up best last night "Living with Drew is making memories we will have the rest of our lives." It really is so awesome to get the chance to live together again as adults. We should throw more parties! Get back to our teenage roommate roots!

3. Anders and I went on a FANTASTIC honeymoon. Its really the kind of honeymoon that makes people say "Whoooah!" We took almost three weeks and traveled half-way around the world to Thailand. It was such a romantic and fun adventure. We were so lucky to be able to take that much time and to be able to really enjoy our first few weeks of married life together.

So those are the highlights! One month in to wedded bliss, and it feels like we still have a lot of settling down and catching up to do. It will all happen soon enough!

Before I Got the GW Job I wrote this:

I've entered that nervous point where I'm second guessing everything about my interview and potential job. I will retell the story so that I have it all in one document and maybe that will relieve some of my stress. I flew out Thursday for the job interview that happened on Friday. The interview was from 10am to 3pm which is by far the longest interview I have ever engaged in. There was no requirement for me to present anything and while that relieved some of the nerves, I felt like I couldn't really do great interview prep with such a long span of interviewing. I was staying with my sister and her fiance and it was really a great visit, so when she and I took the metro in that morning I was feeling okay. DC is hot and I was wearing a suit, but I got to the interview and felt okay about it. What I didn't feel good about was how I have been treated since I told my current employers about my participation in the interview process. My boss and supervisor in particular has been difficult to deal with and has pulled big guilt trips, been condescending and abrasive (while trying to pretend like she doesn't care) and then finally she set a pretty unrealistic ultimatum of giving her a decision seven days after my interview -- which is definitely a power play and totally unrealistic for me and my interviewers. But I decide I'm going to deal with that once I get there.

I had one hour with the Director, one hour with the Assistant Director, and 30-45 minutes with the remainder of the staff. Then I was to have lunch with the Director and finally meet with the newly appointed Dean of Students after lunch. So, in with the Director and things go smoothly. He is a bit of a talker and so we move from one tangent to another, but at the same time I feel like I am learning a lot about the position and the center. And while I don't think any of my answers were life-changing 10/10's, I did feel like I was hitting solid 8/10 for most of the questions. And it is becoming more and more appealing to me. Hearing about the (lack of) politics in the center sounded like a great relief. Hearing about how the staff turnover created new positions and that many of the staff were at similar places in terms of working toward licensure was a huge boost. And then the things that were expected for the candidate: 20-25 clients, minimal crisis work, running groups, lots of outreach support, and running the Peer Educator program where Psych student get course credit for doing outreach about mental health issues. Finally, he told me that I could be dually hired as faculty in the Psych Department and teach there (as he does) and that made it hard not to become more interested. The meetings with the Assistant Director and the rest of the staff who were in town on a Friday in the summer confirmed my good feelings.

So, I decided that lunch with the Director is probably the best time to bring up my situation. And I think that it may be reasonable -- on the phone interview they indicated they were interviewing the previous two weeks, so if I'm the last interview that might give them enough time to make a decision and let me know. It would be a tight squeeze, but possible. I decide to do some recon with the administrative assistant who booked my flight and I casually ask if lots of interviews have been happening and how that has been. And I find out that I am the FIRST interview. At this point, all hope is lost. If I am the first interview, there is no way they will be able to make any decision by the next week and then I will have to stick with the postdoc I have been offered. But I know that I need to at least try to talk with the Director about this reality at lunch. We sit down and before we even have ordered drinks I ask him to tell me about the interview process and their anticipated timeline. He has a big facial reaction and I think maybe I've made a misstep but he says that it is a good question and he tells me they are interviewing the next couple of weeks and will try to bring someone in by August. Well, he says "weekS" and I figure all hope is lost. If they are interviewing beyond the coming Friday, I have no chance. And even though my hope is dashed, I decide I have been upfront throughout this process, and I'm going to continue that strategy. And since I have nothing left to lose, I tell him about my situation, my current employer and the ultimatum. Again, I assume I have ruined my chances, but his first response is telling me that he is sorry I am in that position and then says that after the phone interview they had "strong feelings" about me. And that as a matter of fact, the last interview is scheduled for Friday and given the time difference, he thinks he could let me know before the end of the day. And my spirits lift. I really hope it works out. And I think it might.

Huxley's Second Birthday!

Huxley turned two this past weekend. I just can't believe my little pup is growing up so fast! He had a special day of deluxe meals, lots of playing in the yard and two stuffed squeaky toys. Practically heaven!

Celebrate with us by watching this video from last year of Hux and his best friend Cooper the 5lb Chihuahua. Video courtesy of Auntie Sarah!

(VIDEO COMING SOON!)

Coop and Hux play tug of war from Sarah on Vimeo.

(Try to ignore my jeans on the floor/the sad basement I used to live in)

Bad blogger

Bad, bad, bad, bad blogger.

I have been MIA and I am so sorry. I wont test your patience with posting about what I have been doing. I will simply summarize that things have been very good. Life has been fun, even wedding planning has been really fun! I know there will be plenty of stress still to come, but I am feeling great right now. I am just so excited to be marrying Anders. We literally look at each other everyday (generally multiple times a day) and talk about how happy/lucky/thankful/in love we are. There is really nothing better then that.

On top of it all - spring is finally here. I bought a pot of daffodils at Trader Joe's yesterday. I picked my pot specifically because all of the flowers were still tight little buds. I was confident that it would just keep growing this weekend and maybe I would see blooms at the beginning of next week. This morning my jaw dropped. One bloom was cracked half open when I came into my office. Its all the way open now and two of the others are getting close to being open too. I really think the plant has grown 2 inches since last night and another inch this morning. How amazing is that? Just thinking about all of that growth and new life brings a huge smile to my face. I simply adore the spring.

Daffodils always remind me of my family - particularly my mother. For years of my childhood she recruited us to plant what felt like hundreds of daffodil buds in our propriety. It was always sort of torturous as a teenager. However the spring was always filled with all of those hundreds of daffodils blooming up the driveway or in vases around the house. Daffodils are now my favorite sign of spring and always reminds me of home. I had intended to plant bulbs first thing when we moved into the new house. However things got very busy and I never had the chance. Though lucky for me - someone else did! There are shoots springing up all over our backyard. I am so excited to see what blooms. I'm sure there are daffodils in the mix, but also something much shorter. Perhaps a crocus? We will see! It has certainly been fun to see the seasons change during our first year together in the new house. The winter was intense and the spring is shaping up beautifully!

Tonight we are having a handful of close friends over for the first cookout of the season. I haven't been able to focus all day just thinking about grilling out and lighting the fire pit tonight! Sitting around a fire with a cool drink and good friends seems like a perfect start to the weekend.

I will leave you with a quick picture of me, Huxley and our house in the winter. I believe this was early into blizzard #1 in DC. I can tell because the snow isn't up to our waist already! Lucky for me the temperature outside right now is a beautiful 72 degrees!

Next Years PostDoc

This is from the email I sent to my coworkers from Uniform Notification Day:

"So, my morning took some expected turns. Last night, I decided that I would only want to accept at Stanford or USF, and that if Kaiser or SJS offered me a position that I would turn them down and keep waiting for the other places I have applied. This was a very difficult decision for me, because I truly value being settled and secure, but I didn't want to regret taking the only offer I received, especially if a better fit came along. I also didn't want to be the only intern without any news to share when we get back to the office.

This morning 9am came and went and I didn't get a call. By about 9:05 I realized this probably meant I was not any of my sites first pick, which was a bit of a blow to the ego, but I think our conversations from before helped me recognized what close ties first through fifth might be. Around 9:10am Nancy Glenn from USF called to see if I had accepted a position and to let me know that I was their first alternate and that they were currently on hold. That was reassuring, but it's strange hoping that someone will turn down a position so you can get it.

I decided to text Mary to verify that the teaching track had been filled, that way if USF called me back, I could accept without hesitation. Mary called back and told me that the position had been filled and we chatted briefly, but I was becoming more and more accepting of the idea that I would not have a position by the end of the day. Which felt okay to me, but certainly disappointing. Around 9:35 Nancy called me back and told me that the position had been filled. She sounded genuinely apologetic and regretful, so that made me feel better. I called my parents and some friends to give them the update. I decided to go out on a run to clear my head before I came into the office.

And then, I got a call from a 650 number and I assumed it was Kaiser, so I prepared myself to turn them down, but in fact, it was Mary, calling to tell me that even though the teaching track had been filled, that they LGBT track was still open and they were far enough down on the list that she didn't feel like the remaining candidates were good fits for CAPS. So, she offered me the LGBT track. To make this email wrap up, I accepted. I am thrilled with the opportunity, a little taken aback, but really happy about how things worked out. I guess that quote from my email is true after all.

Again, I'm so proud of all of us,

Drew"

Woo hoo!

Jobs

For the next month or so I will likely be quite anxious about my job situation for the coming year. I have five interviews and I feel good about those options, but there are still a lot of unknowns as to how the remaining interviews will go and which places (if any) will provide offers. Additionally complicating the process is the fact that half of the applications I sent out won't even be read until after this round of interviewing and offers is complete. I guess this is how looking for jobs works in the real world and it is very unpleasant.

I visited a friend from graduate school this weekend who moved for a great job to Merced, California. If you've never heard of Merced, it makes sense, because not much happens there. It's located midway between Modesto and Stockton in the Central Valley, which I think is telling if the points of reference are cities I've never heard anything about. It just made me very grateful about living in a city and having cultural options to explore. I'm sure there are great things about Merced, but at dinner on Saturday at Big Bubba's BBQ when we got our balloon animal hats before the staff did a line dance, I knew I could never live there full time.





































Still, when I am riding the train to work in the morning I pass by an area of San Bruno where there is a Home Depot and in the parking lot I often see 20-25 men standing in various groups and configurations. I assume these men are waiting for people to pull up who need help with cheap manual labor. I think of how scary that life would be to wake up each day and hope that someone will pull up to your group and offer you money for physical work. There is no guarantee, there is no security, and who knows what they make in a given day. I am aware my problems are less dire than the men I see every morning and that makes me grateful.

The Engagement

I am so excited about my role in this event and I wanted to share it with everyone! As if these two could get any cuter:

Best Birthday EVER!

It is official. Thirty was by far the best birthday I have ever had! The celebrations continued this past weekend and it was amazing! It was one of those times where you feel so incredibly blessed and surrounded by love! I just flat out have the most amazing friends.

Like this guy! He flew in from Atlanta to surprise me. This is the second time in two years that he has flown into DC and surprised me. To sum it up...I felt AWESOME! Lucky for all of you they video taped it happening, so you can look forward to a video post of me screaming and bouncing up and down soon.

And how amazing are these folks. I never imagined it would turn into a big South Carolina reunion. DC, Chicago and New York in the house. Plus a few SC folks who had recently moved to VA - driving hours to come hang out for the weekend!

And clearly it just wouldn't be a celebration without some of my favorite JMU folks! And there were so many others that came out to meet us while we were out on the town - freshman roommates, friends from Auburn, people I met once I moved to DC. It really felt like most of the really important friends I have made in the past 30 years were represented (even if they couldn't all be there). Thank you so much Varsity Girls for making this weekend so incredibly special! For helping to coordinate surprise guests and inviting folks to crash at our house. It was perfect.

And a very special thanks to this guy. For letting all of my friends take over our home - for diving head first into the celebration after a very long week of work - and for just generally being you. You make my life so wonderful. Looking very forward to the next 30+ years with you!

Hello 2010!

I keep waiting for a break in the action, but it just isn't coming. The past two months have been some of the busiest, happiest, most hectic I can remember. I am so sorry for not posting more, but I have hardly had a moment to catch my breath. However I don't want to keep you hanging any longer - so this is a back to basics - no funny commentary - no photo and video - kind of post. Hopefully all of the bells and whistles will come back in February!

• We spent a WONDERFUL Christmas in Utah with the fam. At the last minute Anders was able to come out too. It was so fun seeing the grandmas, aunts, uncles and cousins!
• We have had a house full of guests non-stop in 2010. We had friends in town for New Years, my parents in town last weekend, friends in town starting tomorrow and both sets of parents in town the weekend after that. Thank goodness for the guest room. It will be getting a break in February I think!
• The house is undergoing some major changes. We inherited some beautiful furniture and are getting the fence installed next week. Those are the last major projects - but we have a pile of mini-projects that is growing longer each day.
• I turned 30! It was such a fun fantastic weekend split between Williamsburg and DC. Family friends threw us an engagement party that was so much fun and very, very sweet. My parents came to town, we looked at wedding venues, set up the house, ate amazing meals and I just enjoyed being another year older. 30 has been pretty great so far. This weekend I have tons of friends coming in town to celebrate. It is going to be big time fun!
• The wedding - boy oh boy this thing is time consuming. It is amazing how many options are out there. Still nothing decided yet, but we are taking baby steps in towards a date and venue. My father is an AWEsome wedding planner. The budget, spreadsheets, reports and estimates just keep coming. I have no idea how you would plan something like this without some serious help.
• Anders has been working like crazy. He has spent more time on business trips then in the new house. When he is home 12am-1am is generally when he finally calls it quits. Its hard to pass up on such amazing experience, but it is really hard work. On top of all of this he is still just being fantastic - bidding fence contractors, helping with the wedding, taking care of Hux and just generally being the best fiancee ever. I really don't know how I got so lucky.

Things have felt very busy and stressful lately - but there is no denying that life is pretty wonderful for me right now. In moments recently I have felt very caught up in myself and all that is going on around me. I was sent this quote today and it really struck me.

"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Stephen Grellet, French/American religious leader (1779-1855)

It is such a good reminder to really appreciate this moment. To do all that you can to make it better for another person and to not wait for tomorrow. To keep your own life in perspective. Keeping Haiti on my mind, as well as smaller challenges I know others around me are facing.