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.

Boston, MA

I arrived in Boston on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 and was surprised that Evie was with Nichole when she picked me up.  My poor sweet petunia had an upset stomach and missed school for the day.  Luckily, she was feeling better by mid-afternoon and we got to do some playing.  We ran to get a car wash before rushing back to pick-up Parker as school got out for the day.  Parker had lacrosse practice on Wednesday night, so the kids had an early dinner and we headed out.  Evie and I went straight to the playground while Parker took to the field to practice.  He seems to really enjoy lacrosse which is great and since he had a game on Sunday, I got to see him in action which was awesome.

My visit was filled with activity, as always, and it was so nice to have more dedicated one-on-one time with the kids.  One of Parker's front teeth was on the verge of falling out when I arrived and it took the entire length of my stay for it to finally fall out in his sleep on Sunday night.  The tooth fairy brought $5 for his front tooth and I asked if I should pull out my teeth to get $5 for each one.  We all agreed that since my teeth are adult teeth (and therefore won't grow back) I shouldn't do it!  :)  Smart kids!

The $5 gap!  

School drop off went off without a hitch on Thursday and I had a few hours to swim and shower before Parker had to be picked up.  He had a half-day of school so we had a lunch date at Bill's Pizza and then went back to the playground.  I had to pick up Evie from her play date at Katie's house by 3:00, so we made a quick detour to grab her before Mad Science started at 3:15.  While Parker was at Mad Science, Evie and I went to Sweet Tarts Yogurt shop for an afternoon treat!  Being a Mace kid has it's benefits...  Parker had swimming on Thursday night so it was an early dinner of mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and fruit salad.  Everyone was in bed with books read by 8:30 which was a small miracle.

Our pizza date at Bill's Pizza!

Both kids had a full day of school on Friday so I had almost the entire day to myself.  I hit Whole Foods to pick up some items we'd run out of since Wednesday and then went for a jog through town.  The weather was spectacular the entire time I was in Boston and apparently it was lousy in Atlanta, so I was glad to be able to be outside when I wouldn't have been able to be at home.  I love it when things like that work out.  Paul met us at BINGO Night at Parker's school on Friday night and just when we thought that our luck had run out... Parker got a BINGO on the last card!  This makes 2 years in a row and he was quite excited!  I texted Nichole in Miami and she literally couldn't believe he won again!

Evie holding out hope for a BINGO win! 

Saturday started with our tradition of cinnamon buns for breakfast.  Many years ago Nichole bought cinnamon buns as a treat for one of my visits.  That somehow became "the food" we eat when I visit.  It is funny when I am there for more than a weekend because the kids want to eat cinnamon buns every day.  I managed to keep it to only Saturday this time!  Evie had a soccer game on Saturday morning and I was so impressed with her effort!  She got right in the middle of the action.  For a petite little thing she sure was assertive!  After soccer we headed to lunch at a farm that has recently built a little cafe on its property.  It was great.  They had homemade ice cream which, of course, we had to sample!  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing, reading, watching the Kentucky Derby and using our imaginations.  The weather was awesome, so we enjoyed the outdoors, too!  Orb won the race and that was the horse that Parker and I had decided to cheer on, so we were thrilled.  Evie was cheering for the horse with the female jockey so she was disappointed in her 4th place finish.  :)

Evie and her Barn Owl teammates shaking hands with the other team

Parker had a lacrosse game on Sunday morning at Newton South high school.  He was asked to be goalie for the first half of the game and it was so funny to see him in all that padded gear.  He only let one goal score the entire first half!  I was so proud.  He played a variety of positions during the second half of the game and clearly started to lose focus near the end of the game.  I was that relative on the sidelines yelling, "Focus, Mace.  Look alive!"  He was pretty good at ignoring me completely.  Nichole was landing back from Miami at 11:00, so Paul took Evie to go pick her up at the airport and I stayed to watch the end of the game.  After a 5-4 victory, we headed to the Shake Shack for some lunch to celebrate.  We arrived before the line was too long, got our food and a table outside.  Paul, Nichole and Evie arrived quite a bit later and the line was so long that they decided to pass.  Paul and Nichole were hosting a coed baby shower on the South Shore in the afternoon and had to leave immediately so the kids jumped in the car with me and we ran to get Evie some lunch before heading home to play Frisbee in the yard.  We had a great afternoon making sombreros out of paper and planning our taco dinner at El Pelon near Boston College.  DELICIOUS!  Paul and Nichole got home just after we put on our jammies for the night and the kids were so excited to see Nichole and have her do the bedtime rituals.  I was sad to be leaving the next morning, but had such a great visit and look forward to another visit in early June for Parker's birthday and Evie's ballet recital.

Paul getting Parker in his goalie gear at the lacrosse game

Homemade sombreros for Cinco de Mayo!

I am in the final stages of interviewing and getting offers from a handful of companies in the financial services technology space and feel so fortunate that the job market has improved since I left Intuit last year.  I look forward to joining the company that has the most compelling opportunity.  Details on that once I make a decision...

Living it up in Atlanta!

While getting the ball rolling on my networking efforts, I still had plenty of time to enjoy some fun and frolic in my hometown.  The second week in April kicked-off with Book Club.  I think I have mentioned in previous posts that my favorite thing about this particular Book Club is that discussing the book is not as important as enjoying cocktails and gossiping with the ladies!  Miraculously, many of us had actually read the book (On the Island) this go round and we spent a good portion of dinner discussing it.  It was such an easy, light read and it got all of us pumped up for spring since it was set in a tropical location.  We went to Goin' Coastal for dinner as part of our ongoing efforts to match the cuisine with theme of the book.  Only Donna had been there before and we were all pleasantly surprised how delicious it was.  We all got caught up on each others' lives including plans for vacations, house renovations and upcoming children's sporting events.  Fun all around.

I've continued with my swimming, walking/jogging and bike riding which keeps me busy.  I am thankful that my herniated disks remain stable and haven't been causing me any pain or other issues in over a year.  YAY!    My sessions with my nutritionist came to and end in April which made me sad since I enjoy her so much.  But, we agreed to keep up a social connection and immediately scheduled a dinner with our mutual friend, Sam.  We went to Cakes and Ale in Decatur on April 16 and it was fantastic!  If you are looking for a yummy dinner spot, check it out here!  We enjoyed great conversation and agreed to make it a regular thing.  I look forward to the next dinner.

Cille had sinus surgery on April 17 and I volunteered to help out with the girls (Nora and Annika) in any way that was needed so I popped in to see Cille in the afternoon and then walked down to get the girls at day care around 5:00.  There is nothing better than the first moment they spot you approaching and get all giggly and excited!  I love that moment.  Nora and Annika gave out hugs and kisses and we headed home to see Mommy and her 'nose bra'.  They agreed to be extra gentle with her and let her rest which isn't easy for a 4 and 2 year old.  They did great, however!  I had blocked off the rest of the week to hang out with Cille while she recovered. I brought lunch over to her place on Thursday and when she took a nap I went for a jog through the neighborhood.  About halfway through a bird pooped on me.  I know people say that is good luck, but I am calling BS.  It was totally gross and I still had 35 more minutes to go before I could change my shirt.  YUCK!

Cille in her 'nose bra' post sinus surgery.

I know this is disgusting but if I had to suffer through, you might as well, too!

Bird poop on my shirt from my jog in the highlands.  YUCK!

I had my regular 'Ladies Dinner' with 5 former colleagues on April 19 and we decided to go back to our original dinner spot, Maggianos.  It is a chain, but the food is good for sharing and it is centrally located for everyone.  We got caught up on everyone's 'new' jobs and goings-on from life.  Denise told a hilarious story about catching her young son attempt to steal a pack of candy from the check-out line at Walmart after she had recently cut candy out of his life cold turkey.  In an effort to teach him an important lesson about being a criminal, she drove to the police station to 'turn him in'.  Needless to say, he won't be stealing anything else any time soon.  We all laughed and laughed and laughed at her quick thinking!  The night we had dinner was the day of the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect.  Cille and I had spent the better part of the day on my couches watching the live coverage, but she had to leave to pick up the girls at daycare and I had to leave to go to dinner before he was found.  So, I spent much of dinner doing what I hate - checking my phone for updates from CNN.  It couldn't be avoided.  I'd invested so much time and energy in the story by this time, I had to know the outcome.  As everyone knows, he was found in a winterized boat in someone's backyard in Watertown, MA.  I am still processing the horror of the Boston Marathon bombing and don't have my thoughts organized enough to write a post about it.

Jeff came to town for business and the Dogwood festival for about 5 days at the end of April and we had a great time enjoying the fabulous weather.  Alicia had her annual party on Saturday night... she had more delicious food than an army could eat!  On Sunday I invited Daniel over for a BBQ so he and Jeff could catch up.  It was great to see him and our spontaneous BBQ turned out to be fantastic.  Jeff had this awesome potato recipe he prepared and I made marinated chicken, broccoli salad and grilled vidalia onions.  Valenti gelato for dessert.  YUM!  Daniel filled us in on the latest in his life and we rehashed hilarious stories from my days at Intuit.  Good times...

Renee, Alicia, Jeff and me at Alicia's annual Dogwood Party!

Those are bottles of Fireball we're holding up...

My friend Peter continues to recover well from his open heart surgery and prior to him going back to work, we had plans to have dinner with our former colleague, Lou Anne, when she was in town for some training.  We went to 4th and Swift so that he wouldn't have to drive very far and enjoyed a delicious meal with some delicious wine.  It was great to get caught up with Lou Anne and see Peter well enough to be out and about at a restaurant.  It's hard to believe it's been 7 weeks since his surgery.  Where does the time go?

I got a surprise call from my brother and sister-in-law asking if I could fly up to Boston to stay with Parker and Evie due to a last minute travel conflict they had (business trip for Paul, girls weekend for Nichole.)  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.  That action-packed trip will be covered in the next post!

The Official Wind Down

As they say, all good things must come to an end!  After an amazing 7 months of focusing on nothing but travel, exercise, diet, friends and family - I've decided to start winding down my sabbatical to start the networking process in an effort to get back into the work force.  As I have told many people over the past few months - I can honestly say this was one of the best times of my life.  I have been happier and more relaxed than any other time in my adult life.  Reveling in the freedom of owning my own time has allowed me to connect deeply with people, experience new cultures through travel, work on my own health and well-being (I have lost 38.6 pounds since August 31st) and really hone in on what I value in life!  I feel like a better, stronger, healthier version of myself and can't wait to move onto the next chapter.  But, before I do that I have some stories to share since my return from Las Vegas.  Many of you have been kind enough to tell me that you've enjoyed living vicariously through my blog, so I thought I'd share in a few fun times from the past 2 weeks.

Immediately upon returning from Las Vegas I had my friend Liz's 40th birthday celebration at The Wrecking Bar in Little 5 Points.  Cille, Shannon, April and I managed to pull together a motley crew of ~20 friends to meet up in honor of Liz'a BIG birthday!  She had specifically requested an informal setting where we could mix and mingle while enjoying some yummy cocktails.  We settled on The Wrecking Bar because there are a large number of other bars/restaurants within walking distance and we could wander about in the wee hours if we felt so inclined.  :)  We rolled into the bar right on time and spent several hours chatting, drinking, eating and laughing.  Around 11:00 pm a few of the celebrants decided to head home, while the rest of us decided to make our way to the next bar.  We walked (some stumbled) down the street to Brewhouse where we encountered a stranger who had CLEARLY been celebrating in a much more hardcore way than we had been thus far.  We snapped some photos of him for posterity (and your viewing pleasure) before heading inside for some pitchers of beer, nachos and tater tots!  It had been a late night when we jumped in taxis around 2:00 am to head home.  Happy birthday, Liz!

It is safe to say that taking photos wasn't a priority since this is the only shot from The Wrecking Bar!

How much do you think this guy drank?  And, was that pizza delivered to him on the curb?

(We did confirm he was alive before snapping this shot!)

Easter (and Annika's actual birthday) was upon us so Jonas and Cille hosted a pot luck dinner on Sunday. The Nettles and I headed over in the mid-afternoon, while Sue joined when she flew back in from Pennsylvania.  We did an Easter egg hunt with the kids before digging into a delicious meal and some basketball viewing on TV.  Of course, Annika and Charlie entertained us with some piano playing and singing.  Check out their rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game:

Well, they have the refrain down...

It was a great day and the weather was so fabulous that we were able to enjoy quite a bit of outdoor time throughout the afternoon!

I had earmarked the first week in April to work on my resume so I could begin the networking processing and as a result,  I actually sat at the desk in my home office for 3 straight days.  I hadn't sat at that desk for more than 30 minutes since August 31st.  WEIRD!  It wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected to get my resume up-to-date and after I got the first draft done, I passed it along to a bunch of people for feedback.  Once I got the resume to a viable state, I went back to my normal sabbatical routine - lunch with friends, swimming or jogging, cooking healthy meals for dinner and enjoying the great outdoors.  Friday was my birthday, so gifts and cards starting arriving on Tuesday.  For those of you who don't know - my birthday is my absolute favorite time of year because I have some sort of contact with everyone who I care about (phone calls, texts, emails, cards, etc.) in the weeks surrounding my birthday!  This year was no exception.  My generous friends and family showered me with flowers, gifts, meals and cake!  Sue and Cille arranged dinner on Friday night and surprised me with a 'Fudgie the Whale' cake from Carvel Ice Cream afterwards!  To say it was delicious would be an understatement.

Fudgie the Whale!

On Saturday, Jason and Frank took me out to lunch before we headed out for some kayaking on the Chattahoochee River.  The weather was absolutely perfect and being outdoors was our top priority!  We rented some kayak's for an hour and hit the river.  It was awesome:

Jason (and the front of my kayak) on the Hooch!

On Sunday my friend John came to town from Elon  He had tickets for the final game of the Final Four tournament on Monday night.  We met up downtown to go to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Centennial Olympic Park and then went to a late dinner at Mama Ninfa's.  It was great to see him and I am still in shock over the volume of people that were walking the streets at midnight on a Sunday night.  It was insane.  He recognized all sorts of players from the various teams, including the 3 players who are expected to be the top 3 picks in the next draft, but I can't even recount their names now.  I can tell you they were all very tall and chaperoned by men in suites!

My networking has been going very well this week and I have several promising opportunities to work through over the next few weeks.  I will definitely do a final post before I bring my sabbatical to an official end by going back to work.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this blog over the past few months.  It's been so fun to write and I've enjoyed getting notes and comments from people along the way.  :)

Las Vegas, NV

I was shocked to be upgraded to first class on my flight to Las Vegas.  While I almost always get upgraded when I fly, there are two cities on Delta's route that it rarely happens with:  San Francisco and Las Vegas.  Whatever the reason, I was more than happy to take the seat up front and enjoy breakfast with my extra legroom.  When I landed in Las Vegas I called Aria to add my name to the reservation so I could check-in.  Rachel wasn't scheduled to arrive until afternoon and I was afraid I would have gone through my entire gambling allotment of cash if I spent the whole day in the casino waiting for her.  The line to check-in at 10:30 am was at least 250 people deep, so I got in line and waited just over an hour before reaching the counter.  The room was on the 32nd floor with a nice view of the mountains.

I grabbed lunch and unpacked some things before heading downstairs to do a little bit of gambling while I waited for Rachel to arrive.  Her flight was on-time and since I'd already checked-in we were able to head straight to the room so she could settle in.  We had early dinner reservations at the Wynn because we were going to see La Reve at 7:00 so we didn't have too time to do very much before heading up the strip towards the Wynn.  Rachel had never been to Las Vegas before, so we decided to take a cab to the Wynn and walk the length of the strip back to Aria after the show ended so we could take in the pirate show at Treasure Island, the volcano show at The Mirage and the water show at Bellagio.  All and all, the walk took 90 minutes.  Dinner at Lakeside was delicious.  We got an avocado and crab appetizer that was fantastic and we both got the scallops in celery root puree which was amazing.

Canopies and umbrella's inside the Wynn

Fountains outside Bellagio during the water shower

We rented a car on Monday so we could spend the day at Red Rock Canyon.  It was one of the things I had never done in Las Vegas, so Rachel agreed to check it out instead of Hoover Dam (which I've done several times in past visits).  We got an early start and stopped at a mini mart to pick up water and snacks since those items are hard to come by inside the hotels on the strip.  We pulled up to the entrance of the National Park before the crowds arrived and went inside the welcome center to get a map of hiking trails and some gifts for Rachel's kids (Lawson and Claire).  I had done some research before we arrived on easy to moderate hikes and we picked one that started a short distance up the driveable road inside the park.  As we parked at the first pull off spot along the drive we saw a family taking photos on a huge boulder.  Of course, we wanted to get our photo taken on it so we swapped favors and we took their photo so they would take ours!  The National Park was absolutely spectacular and we couldn't have asked for better weather.  We spent several hours meandering through the park and taking in the sights before heading back to the strip.

Rachel and me on the boulder just inside the park

Me along the trail in Red Rock Canyon

One of the cool multi-colored rock formations

After leaving the park we decided to make a stop at Gold & Silver Pawn which is the shop where Pawn Stars is filmed.  Rachel's husband Phil is a fan of the show and she thought she could grab him a T-shirt or souvenir.  We were shocked to see a line of people waiting to get inside as we pulled up.  The line was so long we decided it wasn't worth the hassle and since we were starving we continued on towards Fremont Street.  I had only been there twice and both times were for work-organized events, so I wasn't much help in navigating the best things to see or places to eat.  We were completely starved, so I pulled out my iPhone to find a place we could grab a bite inside one of the casinos.  It was nothing spectacular, but it served it's purpose.  We watched a few people doing the zip line above the street and headed back to the hotel for a brief nap before doing some gambling.  We made reservations at the Japanese place at Aria for dinner and hit the roulette tables.  Rachel was quite lucky and bet the actual number that was spun right out of the gate.  She doubled her money immediately.  Her lucky streak continued and eventually rubbed off on me.  I turned $100 into $252 in less than an hour and decided I had reached my gambling pinnacle and would walk away while I was ahead.  Plus, I had spa appointments booked for the next day that cost far more than my winnings and decided not to press my luck.  We called it a night relatively early and decided to hit the pool on Tuesday before Rachel's business meeting and my spa appointments.  

The line outside Gold & Silver Pawn.  Really?

As many of you know, I am a spa expert.  I have been lucky enough to enjoy many spa visits over the years and I must say that the Aria spa ranks in my top 10 of all time.  Not only was the atmosphere serene, but they way they had it setup kept me from seeing another customer throughout my entire 3 hour visit.  My 90 minute custom massage was absolutely perfect, followed by 30 minutes in the Shio Salt room which is constructed completely of salt bricks.  Supposedly this type of room helps with breathing and allergies!?  I don't know if it does that, but it certainly is relaxing.  I also did some back and forth dips in the hot and cold plunge pools.  It was a great experience from start to finish.  Well worth every penny.

I met up with Rachel and her teammates after their meeting let out at 9:00 and we were supposed to head over to the Bellagio for some Craps, but we were both tired and her business meeting started early the next day so we stayed behind at Aria, Rachel did some gambling and then we called it a night.

It was nice to get caught up with Rachel and have some one on one time for a few days, but all things must some to an end and I caught my flight back to Atlanta while Rachel stayed behind to finish her meetings.

I plan to start the networking process now that I am back in Atlanta with only a handful of trips yet to come in April, May and June.  We'll see what develops in terms of getting back into the grind of the working world.  It's hard to believe my sabbatical will be coming to a close in the coming weeks/months.  Stayed tuned for details on what's next!