oh, hello there! ...a year in review...

Nine months have come and gone since my last entry in this short-lived blog.  What all has happened since my birthday and my last post?  Well, let me see...

1.  My at-the-time fiance and I both received job offers the same week for jobs in the same industry in the same town.  Coincidence?  I think not.  What was a huge stress factor (besides the stress that accompanies planning a wedding) was the fact that we had already planned on staying in our alma mater's town.  The jobs we had interviewed for took approximately 3 months before they even gave us a hint that they were seriously considering us for the jobs...so we went ahead and moved forward securing a lovely little town house.  Literally less than two weeks after we signed the lease the job offers came in.  We weighed the pros and cons and decided maybe it was time for a move...so we bit the bullet and canceled our lease on the town house (ouch) and frantically sought housing in our future new town.  Thankfully, when we previously had gone in for the job interviews we looked a little bit at housing options so we at least knew what was in the area.  We located an acceptable housing option and we both took the jobs in anticipation of starting them after May 14th...what happened on May 14th? Well...

2.  I got married.  May 14th, 2011 - best. day. ever.

3.  We then split for a lovely and relaxing week in Asheville, North Carolina...after the stress of the wedding, new jobs, moving and apartment hunting it was a much needed week of relaxation. 

4. After the honeymoon, it was back to Tennessee to hurriedly pack and throw everything into a moving van and truck it over to Georgia.  All the relaxation we had accrued quickly flew out of the window as we tried to find places for things in our new apartment and get to know our new town. 

5.  Then it was off to the new jobs!  Well...work's work, you know?  And if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.  Suffice it to say, I'm not a huge fan of what I now do...doesn't mesh well with my personality.  Just "doing my time"...looking back on how we both got these jobs, it's obvious that it's what we are supposed to be doing right now.  Hopefully "doing my time" will morph into a job/career/whatever that I truly enjoy.  Or can at least tolerate...I'd take tolerate.  Anyway...

6.  We took a summer trip out to California to see my family...we had a great time, if entirely too short!

...if you squint you can see the Hollywood sign...I do believe this was my first time seeing the sign - even though I am a native Californian. 

7. Once home from California we decided it was time for something new...

her name is Teyla and she has turned into a beast...she no longer fits in her bed.  Suppose that's what happens...sure would be nice if she could've stayed small, though....

8.  Before we knew it we had worked the Fall away and it was the Holidays.  We spent Thanksgiving with Nick's family and had a lovely time.  Christmas was spent here in Georgia with my folks and then a quick trip to Gatlinburg for New Years was had. 

It's amazing how fast 2011 flew by.  SO much happened last year...I do hope 2012 is calm by comparison.  I do hope to make some changes this year...the requisite diet/exercise changes and whatnot - I feel cliche even writing that aspiration down as everyone seems to put that on their "resolutions"...but I also hope some (positive) changes happen on the job front as well.  What is getting me through each work day is the prospect of our cruise in May -- should be fun and, again, MUCH needed. 

So...here's to 2012...may it be prosperous, happy and fun. 

another year bites the dust

another day...another year older.  i could write a nostalgic post about being in my mid or late twenties [no, i don't specify which]...or i could share the amazing video one of my very dear friends posted to my facebook from my future wedding band:

surely they will be free in 33 days to play my reception...


anyways, rather than be all nostalgic and stuff, i thought i'd start next year's birthday wish list.  'cause it's never too early to start working on your collection of the worst album cover art. ever.  so, take note:

so...yeah.

weekend in macon, ya'll

random observations from my spring break weekend spent in macon with my folks and hubby-to-be:

- 15 is the perfect number of chicken wings - not left hungry...but not too full.  too many chicken wings, you say?  i say you are missing out if you skimp on the wings.

- tornado sirens are a lot easier to deal with when you're sleeping through them - none of this knowledge of potentially imminent death crap.

- david's bridal is a foot discriminator - they obviously don't care to help you if you come in for anything other than buying a wedding dress and they don't carry my size in shoes.  boo hiss.

- melting pot restaurants are da bomb.com.

- bentleys, jaguars and maseratis - oh boy!  jimmy choos, versace, gucci - oh boy!  shopping in buckhead [where atlanta's rich and famous reside] was an exercise in Pretty Woman syndrome...store clerks size you up on one glance and deem you unworthy.  boo hiss.

- i have an addiction to buying books...i resisted this said addiction today when i found out that patrick rothfuss's sequal to "Name in the Wind" is FINALLY out...but, still rather sad that i don't have its crisp pages to turn tonight...some other time, Kvothe...some other time.

my time in macon always goes by so quickly...one more day that will be gone in the blink of an eye.  

...tomorrow's a busy day...

sneezes and nostalgia

Spring has finally sprung!  After a long and cold-ish [I add the "ish" because the South doesn't quite do winter like the North...sorry ya'll...] winter, it's a wonderful thing to be able to venture outside in the morning without a coat or an ice scraper to shave off layers of frost from your car windows.  Spring brings joys such as trees blooming, bumblebees buzzing, birds tweeting [the old-school kind of tweets], and sunshine.  Unfortunately, it also brings thick coats of pollen that coat your car much like the ice did a few weeks back.  And, unlike the ice which is merely presents a time delay as you scrape it from your car, the pollen packs a bigger punch.  Sneezing...itchy eyes...itchy throat...I feel like an animated patient in that allergy commercial with the bee who has the voice of Antonio Banderas.  Ah well...pollen and wasps are some of the dues we must pay to welcome in the warmer weather.  Truth be told, I would much rather have the sneezing than the snow.  Now, the wasps...they can all take a long walk [or fly?] off a short pier.

Anyway...as one may probably be able to tell - I have started a blog.  Impressive, non?  Ok, maybe not.  But seeing my fiance starting up a blog...reading the couple others that I have bookmarked on my desktop...really made me miss my Xanga.  Anyone remember Xanga?  Mine still exists...I can't quite bring myself to shut it down before pulling all the posts off and saving them somewhere for posterity.  I mean, my entire college career and grad school life is documented within those posts.  Lots of memories...both good and bad.  If people still read Xanga I would totally reactivate it and start adding posts.  Unfortunately, the web world has moved on and there are now "bigger and better" blogging tools. 

So - hello, Blogger.  I hope you can live up to Xanga.  You got some big shoes to fill.