Thankful Thursday

I really did mean to blog more recently. Especially with the holiday weekend and all that time on a plane last week...and it just didn't happen. It's that time of year at the office, where everything kind of hits the windshield at once, and I'm just trying to get my wipers to work. So here are a few old-ish pictures, and a few new-ish ones. This one is from the conference in DC I was at last week. Nothing better than a big room chock full of data nerds!

 ...and this is my plane window as we were about to take off. They de-iced the wings, and said they'd "try to get off the ground" as I'm looking at the snowflakes. Really instilled confidence in me, that did. Fortunately, we made it off the ground about 30 minutes before the storm really hit. Good thing, because I was running out of clothes :(

 At our conference in Vegas, there was a talk on executive presence. So naturally, I immediately went out and bought some new blazers when I had a spare hour before dinner in DC. Always a good reminder to clean myself up:

Sadly, because I got home so late from the East Coast, I was too tired to think logically and threw all my stuff in the washer, and forgot to sort it out.  So my red coat (yes Pop, the one I nabbed from a children's coat drive) dyed my favourite blazer and a few other key items a nice blotchy pink. Sad! Fortunately, the base colour was a light gray for a couple items, so I think I'm going to use this as an opportunity to try dying clothing!

It's been so busy with travel and visiting family and work that I've not had a lot of time to sit around at home and mope about Nolan being gone. As time goes by, it gets more lonely here...but that means I'm a little closer to joining him for vacation together! Apparently he's having a hoot of a time, trying new foods, meeting fun people and enjoying the amazing culture, and even going to Indian rock concerts:

Last weekend I was up at my parents' ranch to visit and just have quality time relaxing with those I care about the most. I got to hit the gym with my (not so) little brother and visit him at his new job:

 "Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get started for you?"

And then on Saturday, we went into town to check on a new addition to the family. While we were filling out the forms, we got to ogle the precious baby piglets (EEEEEE!!!!!) in the next spot.

 Nate even bonded with one. Sort of (note the screaming mouth). I think this picture is hilarious.

 Before long, we were on our way home, with my parents' newest child:

His name is Captain, and he's a ball of energy and sweetness. I even made him run 6 laps around the vineyard with me before I found out he's supposed to be taking it easy while he recovers from an illness. Oops. Next time. 

All in all, it's been a pretty good week...besides the missing Nolan fiercely bit. 

You may see a trend in my thankful items this week, but I'm okay with that.

1. I'm thankful that time is passing quickly before I get to be reunited with my love!

2. I'm thankful for a family that I'm lucky enough to also call friends, and for the support, challenge, and love they never fail to amaze me with.

3. I'm thankful for my meals this week. I got to either eat nice lunches with colleagues or dinners with friends, and I'm grateful for not having to eat alone (it amplifies any lonely feelings, you know!).

4. I'm thankful for Milo, who keeps me company (even though he tries to get me to play at 4am)!

5. I'm thankful for my job and workplace, and that I truly enjoy both. Not many people are that fortunate.

What are you thankful for?

Walking Distance Only

I like travel. I like exploring new places, trying new foods, sleeping in hotels with tightly tucked sheets...I even like flying and being in airports. But I can't imagine travelling all the time for work. A few times is fun and always interesting, but even one trip makes me kind of tired. So now that I'm on trip 2 in a short period of time, and with my trip to India and Nepal rapidly approaching, I'm looking forward to some good time at home in the next week or so.

Flying Virgin always makes me happy (who couldn't love an airline that uses a safety video like this?!). But flying Virgin AND having a practically empty plane? Double score. I love this view next to me, particularly for a cross-country flight:

So when I landed in DC, it was snowing. Just lightly, barely...but just enough. So instead of finding a cool spot for dinner, I stayed in the building and ate at the restaurant on site. Brr. The next morning, I ventured out for breakfast, since I was up early enough to explore a little. I even took myself on a little walking tour before starting work - there was a magazine in my hotel room all about exploring Alexandria, Virginia, so I ripped out the walking tour guide and set off. If I'm honest, I almost went straight back to my warm hotel room after grabbing breakfast, but I knew I'd regret not seeing a place while there. So I trudged on, and made it all the way! Here's a pic at the waterfront with the dirty Potomac behind me:

And Carlyle house. I can't even remember why this was a historic monument.

A little about Alexandria:

And an old brick ice well (ignore the huge reflection of me...oops):

The sign on George Washington's townhouse replica:

And the house itself. Not what I expected! Yes, that is an Olympic flag in the window too. Cheesy.

 And a sign by a tavern. Haha, I kind of like these kinds of places. It reminds me of the historical spots in the UK!

Part of the churchyard at Christchurch.

 

Christchurch.

After I got back, I headed to the kickoff of my conference. First session was awesome! All about scenario planning, which is something I need to work on. Second session: eh. It was interesting, but not really applicable, as it seemed to be less of a discussion on "strategic" workforce planning as it promised, and more of a lecture on the soft-skills and norms of today's workforce. 

After the sessions ended for the day, I walked over to King Street, hopped on the metro and met up with Sarah and Nico (and their adorable son) for dinner! It's so refreshing to spend an evening with great friends shooting the breeze after sitting in a stale chair for hours on end. Thanks, guys!

Thankful Thursday...and a lot of pictures of stuff.

Our friends recently went to Costa Rica, and brought us back some Lizano sauce as a special treat. We went there on our honeymoon many moons ago (hah!), and fell in love with the casados and tasty brown Lizano sauce. So in honour of good memories, we scrambled up some casados for lunch (the type of meal), and lived it up like we were in Costa Rica. 

Last Friday, we came into the city to submit and wait for Nolan's Indian Visa. I submitted mine too, but at a different place since mine didn't need to be rushed. We dropped it off in the morning, then I worked while he waited. Then we drove downtown for a quick meeting with boss, who joined us for lunch at my favourite spot, then I worked the rest of the day while Nolan waited...until 5:55pm (they close at 6), when they FINALLY got his Visa into his hands. I would explain the whole chaotic and ridiculous process of actually making that happen, but it makes me tired thinking about it. This is his face upon actually getting the Visa:

Although he said this is a more accurate depiction of how he felt inside after the whole stupid process:

If you've ever stayed with us and wonder why we put Milo's bed on the bathroom counter at night, this is why:

Because he ends up there either way. He discovered (and I did too, via my chapstick melting in the top drawer) that the heating system in the bathroom redirects the hot air past and through the drawers, until it hits the underside of the counter, which ends up being super warm. This is his version of butt warmers in a car, and he likes it.

Then I flew to Vegas for work...and discovered that the reputation of the Cosmopolitan hotel as a sexy hotel, though super nice, is intact. In fact, there was sex advertised everywhere in my room, oh-so-subtly. See what I mean below.

Open shower next to the bed: 

The bathroom wallpaper is women's figures (look closely):

Stocking art:

It's hard to tell, but there were mirrors everywhere! 

I don't even know what to say about this one, but...binoculars:

A "get lucky" kit, with everything you need:

And I had a picture of the magazines they left on my workdesk, but it disappeared somewhere. Anyway: one had a risque picture of Britney on it (though, what pictures of Brit-Brit aren't risque these days?), and the other one had a big bold article advertised called "Sex on a Plane". Sweet. All this would be funny and cute if I was here for fun with my significant other...not here alone on business. 

Aside from my hotel,Vegas is pretty much the same as it always is: flashing lights and smoke and noises.

 My crappy attempt at a selfie.

 I DID have to take a picture of the Chandelier bar. This doesn't do it justice, but it's beautiful! Everything is inside this huge, glittering chandelier.

 And the view from my room. Boring. But at least it's better than last time I was here, when I had a sweeping view of the wall of a maintenance building. 

Vegas is always a fun place to visit, but after about 24 hours...eh. It'll be good to be home tomorrow night...for about 24 hours before I leave for Virginia. Anyway:

1. I'm thankful that I get to go home tomorrow, albeit just for a day. I have laundry to do, my own bed to sleep in, and my cat to play with. Oh and a fun girls night out on Saturday before I leave again.

2. I'm thankful for a good meeting with colleagues. It's always so nice to catch up with good folks you haven't seen in awhile, and hear fresh takes on things you've been working on in your own little space.

3. I'm thankful for the hotel itself in Vegas. That sounds weird, but...after many trips, there are some real crap ones out there. This one has a full-blown, fully-equipped gym (hallelujah!), wifi in every part of the building (you'd think that was a given, but no), and actually pretty nice amenities and services. The restaurants in this one aren't bad, either. Did I mention they have a pillow-butler? You know, just in case I don't like my kind of pillow and want to try another one of the 8 varieties they offer.

4. I'm thankful for pilfered water bottles. Because no matter how nice the hotel, it's hard to come across water in the middle of the night when you can't just walk yourself down to the fitness center's water fountain for a refill. So I take them from the meeting rooms and stash 'em. Plus, I forgot how DRY it is here. I'm constantly thirsty and it's nice to have a supply.

5. I'm thankful for a night off tomorrow. I don't know how many hours I've logged these past couple of weeks, but the thought of having a night with my work laptop shut off and just, like...watching a movie or SOMETHING lazy and indulgent like that...sounds amazing.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Whoo boy. I need some thankfulness to think about today. It's been a doozy of a week, and I'm tired and sweating out my stress levels. So let's get on with it, eh?

1. I'm thankful for checklists. They keep me sane and organized, and provide a tiny bit of peace of mind when I feel like I'm in a cart careening out of control.
2. I'm thankful for a night to myself this week. It was a few nights ago, and I did have to do some work, but it was nice to have a night alone to eat whatever I wanted and catch up on Downton Abbey while I worked.
3. I'm thankful for the upcoming weekend! Friend time, checking off more work items in prep for the next 2 weeks of travel, and hopefully even a bit of relaxing in there too.
4. I'm thankful for Nolan. He's just...the best. I run out of original things to say sometimes, but hopefully nobody minds if I re-use my praises for the smartest, funniest, most compassionate and sexy husband out there. I'm so grateful to be able to come home to him after a busy day.
5. I'm thankful for these upcoming business trips. Even though it means more work to catch up on, it's going to be good to reconnect with our entire team in person this coming week, and then super exciting to attend the HCI Workforce Analytics conference the following week! A solid few days of workforce planning and analytics never hurt anyone :)

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Last week was a whirlwind of activity. My work-week was ridiculously busy, and then on top of that, our spare time was consumed with house-hunting. But we did fit in some fun, relaxing things...like mountain-biking on Saturday, hot tubbing under the stars, plenty of post-dinner games of Dominion, and even learning to bottle-feed one of the calves:

In fact, Nolan leaves for India fairly soon, and we haven't even figured out our real trip itinerary due to lack of time to plan it! Maybe this weekend.

I would post a whole lot more about the house-hunting, Milo's adventures with his new(ish) buddy Hagrid, family fun and all that, but this is my first evening without having plans to go anywhere, and I'm trying to soak it up. That and our internet is down until tomorrow, so I'm mooching our neighbour's and have no idea when the bandwidth will fail me. So. 

1. I'm thankful for a weekend coming up. I don't have any firm plans, and for once that is a good thing.

2. I'm thankful for a good book to read on the BART. Don't get me wrong - Moby Dick was a good classic...but I struggled through it. Seriously. I can only read so many pages and pages of whale anatomy that has nothing to do with the meager amounts of storyline. Sorry, Ishmael.

3. I'm thankful for our realtor and the houses we've been able to look at so far. It's so much fun to start this next phase, and learn more about what we're really wanting and needing in a home. Plus, our realtor is really great and easy to work with.

4. I'm thankful for the chances we have to travel coming up. We put a high priority on seeing the world together and spending time adventuring, and we're very blessed to get to do a decent amount of that.

5. I'm thankful for my little cube in the city. I like working from home, but it's always fun to drive into the city in the mornings and enjoy working in such an interesting, fast-paced environment.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

This has been probably the least depressing January ever. You know how everyone gets the winter blues, post-Christmas, pre-spring...those days that just sort of drag out with no huge thing or good weather to look forward to? That hasn't happened this year. Maybe it's because I live in California and am just SO happy to not be dying of cold like the rest of the country, or maybe it's because we're looking forward to our trip to India and Nepal in March (Feb. for Nolan), or maybe because we're in the middle of the "home-selecting and soon buying" process...but life is good, and I don't feel even the slightest hint of SAD. I don't even care that it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home - I've managed to find some sort of sweet spot in life that makes everything great, despite it being January.

It also helps that I decided against a resolution to give up desserts every night.

Next week, Nolan is on one of his assigned vacation blocks, so we're going to head up to the ranch for some R&R (for him - I'll still be working!) and squeezing in the fun process of viewing potential homes with our realtor on the off-work hours. This means I'll be working remotely during the week, and that long of a time-period will be another chance for me to figure out what works and doesn't work for my remote working style, in preparation for me going to that full-time once we move. It's a little scary, a little exciting, and very weird to think about not being surrounded by cube walls and the sound of colleagues typing all the time. On the one hand, I am ridiculously productive when I work at home, and that can't ever be a bad thing, right? On the other hand, I'm going to really miss the constant connecting with my team and colleagues, and I am trying to plan creative ways to maintain the connection when I'm not sitting right there. Fortunately, we're not moving too terribly far away, so I can still come into the office every once in awhile, but it will still be very different.

With all the big plans and change coming up, I certainly have a lot on my plate, but a lot to be truly grateful for. Like:

1. I'm thankful for my awesome job, that I get to really enjoy now, and take with me once we move!
2. I'm thankful for many big steps towards buying our first home...it's coming up fast!
3. I'm thankful for the friends who stick out the many changes and prove that they're not just friends of convenience! Love them!
4. I'm thankful for good food. You laugh, but what better way to enjoy the Bay Area when we have limited time left here, than by taking advantage of the amazing food and restaurants here?
5. I'm thankful for our upcoming trip to India and Nepal! I'm preparing to be amazed!!!

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

I guess it's only appropriate to start off the New Year with a recap of the last weeks of the old, eh? Nolan used his spankin' new GoPro to capture some footage of our holidays in a short clip. Only thing missing is the silly string fight!

Our first annual poetry slam was a win, with everyone but 2 people (*ahem!*) participating. John took home the gold, which in this case was a golf-putting set you can use while on the toilet. Don't ask. Here's my sad attempt at getting everyone in 2 pictures during the poetry slam (no WAY was it happening in just 1 pic). 

One side of the room...

...and the other side of the room.

It was an amazing week of fun, family, good food and general merry-making. We did everything from mountain-biking to eating boatloads (literally, haha) of sushi, to blitzing our families with silly-string, to reciting poetry to running a few miles by the river and CrossFitting (Murph for the win!), to playing games and sipping wine and watching the men almost kill each other first with Indian leg wrestling, then with actual guns and clay pigeons. It was good times.

As usual, the only person who hated his Christmas present was Milo...because I got him a size too small. The only picture I got of him in it was this one where he was rolling around, trying to undo the velcro on his back. Sigh.

One thing I was glad to say goodbye to over the holidays? This version of Nolan's beard. The actual beard wasn't SO bad, but this...this had to go. Immediately.

 Instead of listing out all the incredible things I'm thankful for after an incredible 2013, I'm going to just say thank you to all of you for being a part of my life and helping to make it so incredible. I have high, high hopes for 2014, and exciting plans and dreams. Here's to carrying those out with you all at my side!