Last But Not Least - For Leni (and Logan)

I was reminded recently that way back when I promised I would write one final blog post before going back to work.  As you can probably imagine, being back at work has dramatically change the amount of free time I have on my hands.  Even though it has been nearly 6 months since my last post, I am going to keep that promise and close this blog out right!

I went back to work on July 8th, accepting the offer from Q2 to be Director of Marketing.  It's been a great few months being back in the world of the working folk and I certainly hit the ground running upon joining the company.  I spend every other week in Austin, TX where the company is headquartered, but plan to drop that down to every third week in early 2014.  The majority of the company (and the entire Marketing team) is based in Austin and being there often has been a great way to get to know the team and be a part of the awesome culture that made me choose Q2 in the first place.

Since going back to work, I have still kept up a small amount of pleasure travel with trips to Boston, Chicago and Peru.  My sweet niece, Evie, started kindergarten in September and as I have done for Connor, Hayley and Parker before her - I flew up to take her to her first day of day.  It was a bitter sweet day and quite a few tears were shed.  It is so hard for me to believe that she is in 'real' school.  Where does the time go?  She was so proud to be going to the same school as her big brother and her teachers were so kind and patient as we all lingered a little too long, not wanting to leave her behind for a whole day of school.

Evie and me the morning of her first day!

Evie and Paul (Daddy) walking to her classroom.

My trip to Chicago was for a big party Jeff was having at his parents house.  It was an amazing visit filled with activity and while the party was a great time, I was over-served by his friends and had the brutal reminder that I am not in my 20s anymore on Sunday morning.  I was so hungover that I wasn't sure I would be able to fly back without throwing up!  Luckily I pulled it together and managed to make it home in time to collapse into bed before heading to work the next morning.

The biggest and most exciting of my trips was a 10-day trip to Peru in October.  My friend Sue and I flew to Lima before heading to Cusco, Machu Picchu and Paracas.  We spent our first day in Lima taking in the architecture and sites.  We stayed in the Mira Flores neighborhood, but did venture into the city center during day light hours.  Everyone told us that Lima was dangerous and crime-ridden so we didn't get too adventurous after dark, but did enjoy a fantastic meal on our second night that was one of the best dishes I had in all of 2013.  Yumcity!

After 2 days in Lima, we flew to Cusco to get acclimated to the altitude before taking the train to Aquas Caliente and ultimately Machu Picchu.  Cusco was absolutely my favorite city.  Beautiful.  Friendly.  Safe.  I could have easily spent more time in this little enclave in the mountains.  We used Marriott points to stay for free at an awesome hotel that used to be a convent.  The hotel was built around a center courtyard with beautiful archways making a perfect square.  Even the lobby was spectacular.

Marriott Lobby - Former convent entrance

View from the midpoint of Machu Picchu

One of the many stone structures making up Machu Picchu

View from the driver's side of the car.

Notice that 'lanes' are more of a suggestion than a rule of thumb.

Of course, there has been lots of fun and excitement in Atlanta over the past 6 months as well.  Without writing out each and every moment, I'll close the blog with a photo montage of some of the highlights:

An awesome show by Shonna Tucker and Eye Candy at Piedmont Park

Nora enjoying some cotton candy at the Elon / GA Tech Game.

Best Aunt Robin and Nora date day EVER!

Weekend project to make pumpkins while Cille (Mom) and Jonas (Dad)

went to Newport, RI for a wedding.  FUN!

Cheering on the Atlanta Marathon runners in Lea's Girls on the Run tent!

It was a luau theme in case you couldn't tell.

Aunt Robin (cat) and Annika (Rapunzel) on Halloween 

at Rosewood Ave street party!

One year anniversary party at Monday Night Brewing. 

Great beer.  Great food.  Great music.  Great friends.

Nights of Lights show at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens

New installation for 2013 - huge cobra?!?

The Pink concert at Phillips Arena.  AMAZING!

Justin Timerblake concert at Phillips Arena 3 days later!  Also AMAZING!

NYC on Christmas morning from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

Cold and crisp, but spectacular as usual.

Well... that's about it my friends.  Thanks to everyone who followed my footloose and fancy free journey this past 16 months.  It has been an unbelievable experience.  My wish for everyone who has read even a single post in this blog is that you have an opportunity to do something in life that makes you as happy as this experience made me.  Live the life you want to live without regrets!

Happy 2014 (and beyond)!

Princeton, NJ

My cousin Kim surprised us all by getting married on a whim in Lake Tahoe on March 30.  Since no family was in attendance at the actual wedding, she and her new husband, Pierce, planned a vow renewal ceremony and reception at a vineyard in NJ on June 23rd.  I flew up on Saturday night to arrive in time for the planned bar crawl.  As I pulled into the hotel, a group of 15 was getting ready to head out for a pre-bar crawl dinner.  I told them I would grab a bite, get cleaned up and met them at the first bar around 9:00 pm.

As I think I mentioned in my last post, I had another steroid epidural treatment on Wednesday before leaving for NJ and while I had high hopes it would solve the intermittent lower back pain I've been having, it was a complete 'fail'.  Not only did it not fix the intermittent pain, I am now in chronic pain unless sitting upright, completely still.  UGH!  I head back to the doctor on Wednesday for a new MRI to see if we can figure out what is going on and (fingers crossed) fix it.  (Interesting side note:  I have also acquired a terrible twitch in my right eyelid since the injection.  I know the doctor will tell me it is unrelated, but it's too coincidental to NOT be related.)

Due to the chronic back pain, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to last on the bar crawl.  I was able to make it to the first bar, Triumph Brewery, but after 1 drink and about an hour of visiting, I decided it would be best for me to skip the rest of the evening.  I didn't want to use up all of my energy on the night before the main event.  The vow renewal ceremony didn't start until 4:00 on Sunday, so I had time to go for a walk in the morning.  I've been trying anything that might help loosen up my back and relieve the pain.  I went about 2 miles in 90 degree heat before the pain became more than I could manage.  It was back to the hotel to lie down for a bit.  UGH!

I grabbed a sandwich at a local deli before heading over to Unionville Vineyards on Sunday.  It was really hot and threatening to rain, but the weather held and Kim and Pierce had a bright sunshiny day for the vow renewal and reception.  It was really lovely and certainly seemed that the 2 families melded well.  Congratulations, Kim and Pierce!

The newlyweds post-ceremony

Sal, Aunt Lois, Kim and Pierce

My brother and Nichole took my rental car back to Newark Airport on Sunday night so they could catch the last flight out to Boston and my parents and I spent the night in Princeton.  After a quick breakfast, we packed up and headed to the airport.  I was booked on the 3:45 pm flight to Atlanta, but was hoping to catch an earlier flight on standby.  Here's where the day gets interesting...

I was told that all flights to Atlanta from Newark were oversold by at least 8 seats that day and there was no way I was going to get on an earlier flight, but given my Medallion status and history of good luck I asked to be placed on the standby list for the next flight.  Thinking there was no chance of getting on the flight, I went to a restaurant to grab lunch.  When I finished my salad and started to walk back to the gate area, I heard my name being called on the overhead speaker.  When I walked up to gate 44 the agent told me I had been cleared and could take seat 13D.  I literally couldn't believe it, but smiled and boarded the 1:00 flight.  Approximately 10 minutes after boarding there was a ruckus in the back of the plane and a gentleman walked back to the front holding his ticket, complaining about his seat.  The next thing I know, the gate agent is standing next to me telling me I have to get off the plane!  WHAT?!?  Apparently, the gentleman making all the noise was assigned a seat that was broken and unable to be sat in for the flight.  It was explained to me that since I was the last standby passenger cleared, they needed me to give up my seat and allow him to take it.  Okay.  I couldn't be too upset given the circumstances, but I was certainly going demand that I be put on the 2:15 flight since I had an actual ticket from the 1:00 flight.  Delta had other plans.

The ticket I had from the 1:00 flight (that I was booted off of) was useless.  It held no special entitlement to get me on the 2:15 flight and that flight was even more oversold than the 1:00 flight has been.  So, I sat down and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Then, at around 2:00 I hear my name on the overhead speaker again.  I walked up to gate 46 and the agent told me they could clear me on the flight, but I'd be in a middle seat in the last row of the plane and my luggage had to be checked because all overhead bins were full.  At this point, I was only an hour from my original flight and I was confirmed in a first class seat on that flight.  I weighed my options and declined the offer.  If I had only known what a mistake that was going to be!  We boarded the 3:45 flight on time and I happily claimed by first class seat.  Shortly after boarding began the pilot announced that all outbound flights to the South and West were on a ground hold and we hadn't been given a new wheels up time.  A loud groan roared through the plane.  We pulled away from the gate around 4:00 and sat on the ground for over 2 hours before taking off.  I walked into my house at 9:07 pm after arriving at Newark Airport at 10:45 am.  Day completely lost.  Total bummer.

I am in Atlanta for a few days before flying to Cozumel for my final escape before starting my new job on 7/8.  There will be a final post before I officially give up the blog!  Keep an eye out in about a week...

Chicago, IL

Jeff booked his connecting flight through Atlanta so we could fly to Chicago together on Thursday afternoon.  We landed on time and headed straight to his place to drop off luggage and then run over to Costco to pick up some art he had stretched on canvas.  Two of the three looked great, but the third had to be redone.  We then went straight to the sushi place we ate at the last time I visited.  Southcoast did not disappoint!  We had another amazing meal and I enjoyed several lychee martinis.  Jeff had to work on Friday, so I got up and went to the gym.  Jeff's childhood friend, Colleen and her colleague Sara came into the city for a site visit at McCormick Place and then spent the afternoon working at Jeff's place.  They had made reservations at RPM (Bill and Giuliani Rancic's restaurant) for Friday night and it was absolutely delicious.  Sara knew the manager and he treated us to a round of cocktails at the bar before our booth was ready.  The food was fantastic and the conversation was even better.  After dinner we ran to the fire house across the street so Sara could pick-up a t-shirt for her 3-year-old son.  We had some fun on the fire pole before heading out to Vertigo, a roof top bar nearby.  The weather was amazing and we enjoyed the view of the city before heading over to another roof top bar a few blocks away.  Colleen and Sara invited another colleague of theirs, Shara, to join us.  She recently moved from San Francisco to Chicago after NEVER having been to the city before!  She's getting acclimated and was happy to have some familiar faces to take in the city with!  We were out pretty late and grabbed a cab back to Jeff's place for some sleep.

My favorite of all the photographs that Jeff had stretched onto canvas!

Fun in the taxi on the way to dinner at RPM

Sara, Colleen, me and Jeff at RPM

The main reason for my visit was to compete in the Urban Dare with Jeff on Saturday morning.  We named our team "Disoriented" and even though we had good intentions of making team t-shirts, we stuck with the event-provided shirts instead.  Jeff's sister, Annie, came to join us as official photographer as we started the race at a sports bar on West Wacker.  We were given 11 clues to decipher and they lead to 11 locations throughout the city.  We chose to solve them all at the bar and then map them out so we had a logical path to follow with as little back-tracking as possible.  We also had a few bonus tasks that (if completed) would give us 5 minutes off our final time!  We solved the clues very quickly and hit the streets to locate them.   In some of the locations we simply had to take our photo and move on. At other locations we had to perform a task to get a stamp in our passport.  Some of the tasks included making a sword out of a circus balloon, running a 3-legged race around Buckingham Fountain and getting a piece of bubble gum out of a pile of whipped cream without using hands then blowing a bubble.  We had a lot of fun.  I think we both expected it to be a bit more of a challenge and to involve more tasks, but it was fun and we came in 50th of out 130 teams.  IMPRESSIVE in my book!

The first location on the Urban Dare!

My proposal to a complete stranger!  I'll do anything to win!

One of the last locations on the Urban Dare!

After the race we headed back to Jeff's place for a little nap before meeting up with Sally for dinner and drinks.  Jeff picked a Tapas place called Mercat and it ended up being one more fantastic meal in a weekend full of fantastic meals.  YUM!  It was threatening to rain all evening and while we were eating the skies opened and dumped crazy amounts of rain on Chicago!  We walked just a short distance after dinner before deciding it wasn't going to be fun to navigate the city in the rain!  Jeff and I parted ways with Sally at the El and grabbed a cab back to his apartment so we could watch The Impossible.  If you haven't seen the movie you should!  While it is totally heart wrenching and at times gruesome, it is really well-done and the acting is spectacular.  I cried through nearly the entire thing!  :)

Sunday was Father's Day and after calling my awesome Dad to wish him a wonderful day, we headed out to St. Charles so Jeff could spend the day with his Dad.  We grabbed lunch at a burger joint in the city and hit the highway.  Traffic was a complete disaster and it took us FOREVER to get there.  Once we made it we met up with Annie to run some errands and buy the makings for pink peppercorn ice cream.  We snuggled with Wrigley, played bags (cornhole) in the backyard and cooked a yummy dinner before heading back to the city!  The traffic was just as bad on our way back, so it was slow going...

I was sad to leave on Monday, but had to get back to Atlanta for a busy week, including another steroid epidural treatment on my lower back to try and relieve the pain from my herniated L5 S1 disk.  Fingers crossed that it works.  I am off to my cousin's wedding next.  Details on that in the next post.

New Orleans, LA

About six months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 a group of folks from Intuit partnered with Habitat for Humanity to volunteer for a week.  That first trip became an annual tradition and I have been participating since 2008.  Since I don't start my new job until mid-July (details on that later), I was able to join the group one more time.  It has been nearly 8 years since Hurricane Katrina hit, but you'd never believe it was that long ago when you see the amount of need still crippling the city.  Habitat has done an awesome job doing their part to rebuild communities, but it still amazes me that for every house we work on, there are 5 more on the block that need to be condemned and/or demolished.  The good news is that I have seen remarkable improvement year over year and continue to be impressed by the enthusiasm and resiliency of the people who love the city.  It is inspiring!

Rather than breaking down the trip day-by-day, I'll capture some highlights for this post:

I arrived on Monday and met everyone at the house where I was handed a frozen daiquiri.  What a good way to start off the trip!  The build is always Tuesday through Friday, but we typically spend an entire week in the city at a rented house.  This year, we rented a different house than usual and were in a whole new neighborhood that had lots of restaurants and shops within walking distance.  Once Marilyn arrived from North Dakota, we made our way to dinner at Jacques Imo's down the street from our house.  It was really crowded, but Danny went in and worked his magic to get 2 tables next to each other that could accommodate all 14 of us!  It was so late that I decided to only have an appetizer, but all of the food looked amazing.  We realized upon walking up to the place that one of the bars Fred and Len had been told to visit was right next door (The Maple Leaf) so we got some cocktails while we waited for the tables to be cleared and set.  We had several newcomers to the group this year so I was eager to see how the dynamic might change.  Well, as you probably could guess, the newbies only made things better, fitting right in and becoming the ring leaders for debauchery.

Table #1 at Jacques Imo's - That's Bo hiding behind me!

We worked on two different houses this year and got to meet the to-be-owners of both which was awesome.  First, we did some finishing work on a house that would be moved into at the end of the month.  Anastasia and her 6-year-old son would be moving into the first house we worked on.  Originally from Russia, she was visiting the US when Hurricane Katrina hit and gut stuck in the city.  She's been there every since.  She was closing out her sweat equity hours while we were finishing her house and it was so nice to know she'd be happily living in the house once we finished it.  Second, we worked on a house that would eventually be owned by Brian, Maggie and their two kids.  Their house was in the earlier stages of the build out and we worked primarily on siding and painting.  The work was very rewarding, as always, but by 10:00 am on the first day we were once again questioning why we continue to do this in May/June each year.  It was so hot and humid that my t-shirt was soaked through and I had reapplied sunscreen twice already!  Luckily we had enough cases of water to keep an army hydrated so no one got physically ill from the heat.

Working on house #2 mid-week.

The fruits of our labor - House #2 at the end of the week!

Tuesday was Jeff's birthday and we went to Brennan's for dinner.  After a slight miscommunication about which location we were actually eating at, we all arrived in time to order.  After numerous bottles of wine and some delicious food, the restaurant staff bought out a loaf of bread that had been dressed up to look like Jeff.  We all sang happy birthday and decided Bread Jeff would be the 15th guest in our house for the remainder of the week.  It was priceless.  He began causing mischief throughout the house immediately and I can honestly say that our antics with Bread Jeff gave me some of the hardest laughs I've had in years.  We added more Jeff-specific characteristics throughout the week and eventually had to put him in ziplock bag to stave off the fruit flies and gnats.  Check him out:

Real Jeff, posing with Bread Jeff on his birthday!

Bread Jeff's demise at the end of the week.  A true NOLA-style funeral!

We also had dinner at a fabulous Sushi place called Chiba one night and were pleased to find out that it was Happy Hour all night, so we had 1/2 price sushi and cocktails.  To say that we gorged ourselves is an understatement.  It was fantastic and we were all able to sit at one table:

The whole group at Chiba for sushi.

We had a great week and I can't believe how quickly the time flew by...  Some of us had to head out on Saturday and closed out the trip with brunch at The Country Club which is a place we discovered last year.  Delicious food and interesting clientele.  Check it out for yourself if you are in NOLA!

I am off to Chicago for the Urban Challenge later this week.  I am trying to fit in as many trips as possible before starting my new job at Q2 in mid-July!  After Chicago I have my cousin's wedding in NJ and July 4th in either Mexico or Puerto Rico.  More on that in future posts...

Boston, MA

It seems impossible that Parker could be 7 years old already!  Where does the time go?  I had plans to be in Boston the weekend after his actual birthday because that was when he was having his party and it was also the weekend of Evie's dance recital.  I was unable to change to an earlier flight on Friday afternoon, so I arrived after Evie had already gone to bed.  Boo.  Luckily, Parker was still up watching Stars Wars Episode Two.  Paul and Nichole made an agreement with Parker that he could watch the Star Wars movies when he turned 7, so he's been watching one movie per Friday night since his actual birthday on May 24th.  When I called to sing to him on his actual birthday he was so excited about watching Episode One that I couldn't believe he actually paused the movie to greet me with hugs and kisses when I arrived.  We watched the last 45 minutes of the movie together and I got a kick out of the fact that he had to cover his eyes every time someone on screen kissed.  He is growing up so fast!

As part of our birthday tradition, we had our shopping/lunch date on Saturday before his party so he could pick out his present.  We got an early start because Evie had a soccer game and Nichole had loads of stuff to go in preparation for the Lego party at 2:30.  My parents were also arriving around 1:00 and we wanted to be back before they pulled into the driveway.  We went to Learning Express in Newton Center because they carry Star Wars themed Lego sets which is what he wanted.  After much deliberation and contemplation, he settled on the Jedi T-6 Shuttle.  He was so excited to get home and put it together that when I told the clerk to gift wrap it, he was very confused.  I know how Parker's brain works.  Once he gets started on something, there is no stopping until it is done.  So, I wasn't about to let him start working on a 3 hour project before his birthday party.  He'd have to wait until after the party to put it together.

                        

We made a quick stop at Evie's soccer game to cheer her and her barn owl teammates on before heading to Bill's Pizza for lunch.  This is the same place I took Evie for her birthday and for some reason, it has become our go-to place for birthday dates!  We ran into some of Parker's friends who sat with us while we enjoyed our pizza.  After lunch it was back to the house to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa and get ready for the party guests to arrive.  Nichole had already decked the house out with Lego decorations and we helped assemble goodie bags and place balloons throughout the house.

The gaggle of boys (and 3 girls) arrived at 2:30 on the dot and Nichole started the first game.  After all the inside games and some cake, the party moved outside for a pinata and a good old-fashioned water balloon fight.  Boston was having a crazy heat wave and the cool water was the perfect finish to the day.  We went out for Chinese food after the party and came home to open presents.  As expected, Legos made up the majority of the gifts, but he only got one duplicate.  Lucky, lucky boy!

Game One: Team Lego Assembly

Lego Cake for a 7 year old!

Alex swinging at the pinata!

Check out Eddie's aim...  Poor Caroline!

By the time I got up on Sunday morning, Parker was halfway through the assembly of his Jedi T-6 Shuttle.  It is impressive how good he is at putting together Lego sets.  I think a future in engineering is in the cards.  Parker had a lacrosse game before Evie's recital so he, Paul, Grandma and Grandpa set out for the field first and Nichole, Evie and I followed a bit later.  He was right in the action again and his time finished the season undefeated with a one point win over the other team.  He was thrilled.  We headed straight home so Evie could get ready for the recital.  She was a vision in pink and blue sequins with her hair in a bun and make-up on her face.  She and Nichole had to be to the venue an hour before the rest of us, so off they went.  Just like last year, we were so impressed with Evie's number in the recital.  Seeing her on stage was such a thrill!

Evie the ballerina!

We went to dunch (lunch/dinner) with 2 other families after the recital.  The kids all got along and the adults enjoyed some good conversation before parting ways.  We got some got some ice cream treats at Cabots before Nichole, Parker, Evie and I went for a walk through town.

I had a morning flight to New Orleans on Monday, so I got a last snuggle up with Parker before school.  Evie didn't have school, so I actually had to go wake her up to say good-bye.  I can't wait to our next visit...

Lake Hartwell, SC

In early May Cille posed the idea of getting out of Atlanta for the Memorial Day weekend and after lots of research and negotiation, we settled on a fabulous house in Lake Hartwell, SC.  The Goodmans, Pawlowskis, Nettles and I headed out on Friday afternoon and Liz joined us on Sunday after wrapping up a big wedding she was catering on Saturday night.  Even though we got stuck in a bit of traffic as we hit I-85 North, it was an easy drive and the house was absolutely perfect!  The owner, Gary, was there to meet us when we arrived and give us a tour of the property.  We were on a deep water cover that was nice and quiet, but still afforded us all the benefits of being on a lake.  We immediately got into bathing suits and hit the water.  Jonas had purchased an enormous raft-like thing called Relaxation Station and after blowing it up the fun began.  Nora (much like me) loves the water and literally only got out when forced to by her parents for a snack and/or meal.  We enjoyed perfect weather, canoeing, paddle boating, swimming, grilling, making s'mores and watching Braves games in the in-home theater!

I went for a long jog on Saturday morning and saw a family of 5 red fox, a bunch of chipmunks and field mice and 2 woodpeckers as well as a group of bird watchers who had spotted a 'chat' in one of the trees along the road.  When I got back to the house, everyone was getting ready to jump in the lake, so I joined the fun.  Jonas and Todd had gone to the store to pick up a few items and they got back just in time for a quick swim before lunch.

Nora getting ready to jump into my lap from across Relaxation Station!

And... the jump is good!

Annika wasn't particularly interested in getting in the lake, but she thoroughly enjoyed playing on the dock, canoeing and paddle boating.  She made her own adventure with the water that lapped up onto the dock at the space where it hit the shore.  It was priceless.

Annika making her own fun with the water that lapped up onto the dock

Cille had put together a schedule of who was responsible for each meal and it worked out perfectly.  Todd is known for being a great cook and he didn't disappoint.  He prepared salmon and flank steak one night that had been marinating for more than a day.  It was absolutely delicious which reminds me that I need to get the marinade recipe from him immediately.  The kitchen was enormous and the bar had enough stools for the kids to sit and eat all together.  

Life is better at the lake...

When Liz arrived on Sunday morning she wanted to take the canoe out for a spin so the two of us loaded up and started paddling.  Approximately 45 seconds after getting in the boat she asked why we were veering to the left.  As I opened my mouth to tell her that I would correct us as soon as we cleared the dock, she turned around in her seat too quickly and we flipped over.  It was priceless.  The boat started filling with water while it was on it's side and we were laughing so hard we couldn't do anything to stop it.  Jonas came to the rescue and pulled the boat out of the water and back onto the deck.  Luckily I had already enjoyed a lengthy canoe ride with Cille and Annika on Saturday and didn't feel too badly about forgoing a second attempt with Liz.  :)

Aren't you supposed to be IN the boat when you canoe?

The weekend was a perfect mix of relaxation, conversation with good friends and activities with the kids.  We will definitely rent the house again sometime, as it was perfect for a group outing.  I am in town for 4 days before heading to Boston for Parker's birthday and Evie's ballet recital and then onto New Orleans for the annual Habitat for Humanity build.  More on those adventures in the next post...

20 Year High School Reunion

It really is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since I graduated from high school.  Some days I still feel like I am 18 years old, so how could it be possible that 20 years have passed?  I had a fun couple of days in Atlanta after my trip to Boston, including an unexpected reunion with Peter Recupero (Alicia's brother) who joined us in Mexico this year for the MLM Trip and decided to drive down to Atlanta to visit for the weekend of 5/10.  It was so fun to see him and (as always) Alicia was the hostess with the mostest for his visit!

I flew up to NJ on Thursday even though the reunion wasn't until Saturday because I wanted to fit in a few other social visits while I was in town.  First things first - about a week before the reunion we learned that one of my close friends from high school wouldn't be able to attend the reunion due to a vacation he already had scheduled.  So, my friend Jenna and I planned to have our own reunion with him on Friday.  We met for lunch and it was literally as if no time had passed at all when we met up in the parking lot outside the restaurant. Steven was exactly the same, except he now shaves his head bald and is all tatted up!  We sat for hours and got caught up on each others' lives.  It was a surreal experience that got me even more excited about the actual reunion.  We promised to do better about keeping in touch and I really hope we do!  We hugged it out and parted ways in the late afternoon.  It's experiences like these that remind me old friends are a special breed - if someone is a true friend, it doesn't matter how much time passes between visits, you can pick up right where you left off!  Thanks for being one of those kind of old friends, Steven.

Jenna, Steven and I at lunch on Friday!

On Friday night we had plans to meet up with a bunch of people at a bar in Wayne.  My friend Christine wanted us to meet her new beau, Mike, and she had some other friends from high school staying with her for the weekend because they were in town for the reunion.  Jenna and I ordered sushi for dinner, picked up her sister, Elisa, and headed to the bar.  Christine and Ari were already there and Jay and Mike joined shortly after we arrived.  There was an insanely loud band playing, so we had to fight over the noise to enjoy any sort of conversation but it was fun none-the-less.  We made plans to meet up the next day before the reunion and headed home for the night.

On Saturday morning Jenna's sons (Peter and Andrew) each had baseball games so we packed up the cars and headed out to watch the fun.  They both did great and the rain held off, so it was a successful morning.  I ran to meet Christine and Ari for lunch and a quick stop to pick up a new camisole before rushing back to Jenna's house so we could go get our hair blown out at a new blow out bar in Wayne.  Yes, we actually got our hair blown out for the reunion.  In the old days this wouldn't be even remotely out of character for me, but now-a-days people who know me probably think that is hilarious!  To catch me without my hair in a ponytail is miraculous.  Elisa came over to do our make-up and help Jenna settle on the perfect outfit before we headed out to Uncorked for the pre-reunion festivities with my core group of friends from high school.  (This is the same group that got together in November when I was in NJ on my roadtrip!)  I feel really lucky that a large group of us from high school have remained close friends over the years and get together at least once a year.

The original high school crew at Uncorked!

The ladies (Me, Christine, Roxanne, Kim and Jenna)

The guys (JB, Drew, John and Peter)

Old friends are the best friends (John, me and Christine - JB in the background!)

After enjoying some delicious 1992 Cabernet (courtesy of JB) we got ready to head to the reunion.  I made a quick stop in the ladies room before we left only to have my iPhone take a dip in the toilet.  UGH!  I didn't want to carry a purse with me all night, so I put my phone in my back pocket.  As soon as I unbuttoned my pants I heard a plop and the phone fell right into the toilet.  I debated for a moment (which was probably my biggest mistake) and then decided to fish it out.  It was dead.  I couldn't take any additional photos for the rest of the night and as it turns out, my delay caused by my debate about whether to fish it out or not is probably what caused it to die permanently...  It spent 3 days in a bag of rice trying to dry out, but never turned back on.  Oh well!  We arrived at the reunion and the fun began.  I can't express to you how surreal it is to see people you spent every day with for 4 years, 20 years later.  It was so fun to catch up with everyone and hear what's going on in everyone's lives.  It was also hilarious to see what everyone looked like at 38 instead of 18!  The night went by way too fast and we decided to continue the party at a local bar afterwards.  We found ourselves at a diner in Wayne at 2:30 am eating disco fries and late night breakfast treats.  Just like old times...

Jenna, Peter and me - I hadn't seen Peter in about 10 years!

Tiffany, Jennifer, me, Nadine and Dana!  

Me, Andrea, Christine, Tara and Jenna!

Needless to say, it was an awesome weekend and I really hope we do it again at 25 years instead of waiting for 30 years!

Since I was without a phone on Sunday, my time at the airport was brutal with no apps to entertain me or help me pass the time.  Of course, there was terrible weather and my flight was delayed several hours.  I luckily used my Delta Medallion status to jump on an earlier flight and got out of there several hours than expected!

I am headed to Lake Hartwell, SC for the long Memorial Day weekend with several friends.  We've rented an amazing house right on the lake and plan to spend the majority of our time in the water!  More on that in the next post.