weekend update

This weekend was a combination of relaxing, slowness and events.  Mostly importantly I got to sleep in… so my friend went to brunch on Saturday without me (and don’t feel bad as she is a super morning person and another of her morning friends went with her).  Our events for the day centered around eating… we had lunch plans, shopping, and dinner plans. Both of the meals were so amazing!  I got ordered more beef and for dinner we did a full beef platter type thing – awesome.  My belly and blood are so full and richly red right now – um. 

We did make it out to a bar, Argentine style (very late) and then off to a club even later.  She bowed out somewhere around 3ish and I stayed out with a trustworthy and very nice friend of hers… I realized somewhere in my dancing that I wasn’t able to fully follow or know what my feet where doing that I was simply tired.  So we left… and boy would I have LOVED a Denny’s or IHOP right then, but nonetheless BA doesn’t have one so I hit my bed somewhere after 5ish.

To the more amazing surprise to everyone, I made it up before my friend went to brunch with her friends… so they left, I hopped in the shower, and joined them late.  Honestly, this might have been my favorite brunch spot, I ordered a cappuccino – it was so big and so awesome!  Not to mention the service was great and honestly, everything was just good… expect for the fact my brain was fully functioning and my friend and I couldn’t really communicate to each other and the more one of us tried to understand the more confused it got!  It was hilarious!!!

The rest of Sunday was equally as relaxed and lazy, we meet up with some friend for mate in the park… it started to rain so some folks came back to the house to chill.  I’ve decided that mate without sugar is not for me which is surprising as I’m such a plain drinker – normally I like my coffee dark and strong but this is different.  This is different, it has a way more earthly flavor and I just don’t like feeling like I’m eating trees so the sugar adds just enough to bring it back to a milder tea flavor for me.  Bottom line the mate in the park is a great tradition and everyone seemed to be out, very cool!

tango

Hello… I’m still in BA but I thought for my last day I’d catch you up. 

Friday I sort of spend the day centered around tango… I was up early to meet a co-workers cousin for brunch in  San Telmo however I got lost.  The cab driver either took advantage of my lack of language skills or just plain didn’t understand me and dropped me off in the completely wrong part of town.  Thankfully I was in a safe area just totally turned around and couldn’t find it on the map so I finally tried asking someone – hilarious but I got it.  I made it to our brunch location an hour later and am sure I missed her but it the day was still beautiful, so I ate and then honestly just wondered.  I wondered up and down the streets window shopping in the antique stores.  Honestly, if I had limited income and/or lived here I might have spent more time because the chandeliers here are gorgeous!  Then I wondered back to the Plaza Dorrego which is a little center that has restaurant tables, vendors, and a little bit of tango all in the same area.  I found a necklace I couldn’t live without and then sat down to wait for some tango…

It ended up being a short day for wandering around because my body was just done and tired – maybe old age setting in?!  hahaha!!!  So I came back to my friend’s house and chilled, it was great.  Once she got home we opened the bottle of wine, had a smorgasbord of food, and got ready for the tango show – perfect.  The show it’s self I thought was awesome!  I’ve seen better individual dancers however the tango dance is just really cool to me, the passion, the variety, and, here, the costumes all very very cool.  Really glad we went… and really glad my friend sucked it up for me as she is not a fan of watching it at all  …now that’s an awesome friend. 

i have arrived!

Well, its official, I”m here in BA!  So far it feels like a long but fast blurry journey to get here.  I spent 7 hours in ATL – pampered my toes, my nails, and my entire body… and even took a break from all the pampering to watch MSU!  Go green!  It’s never the most ideal to spend 7 hours in layover time but I have to say, it also wasn’t the worst.  The 10 hour red-eye flight its self wasn’t that bad either… though I think the anticipation of doing it again is not going to be fun.  In my head I broke it up in pieces – movie #1, movie #2, sleep, arrive.  The first two and the last piece of the trip went off without a hitch; it was the middle that left me a lot to be desired.  Bummer that I didn’t sleep a whole lot but I did enough to not make me totally out of it.

So we speed into the country at about 30,000 plus thousand feet (my ears were fine!!!!) at about 550 miles per hour – amazing.  Honestly, the hardest part of the whole trip is that my entry forms (customs and immigration) need better instructions.  Maybe even instructions for dummies!  The print was so small, it was in three languages, and some of the questions didn’t even make sense.  Now I’m guessing most people out there are thinking, well ask the flight attendants… we did and no help.  Million dollar idea #1 – travel form instructions for dummies, pocket-size addition.  It was hilarious!  I was trying to read the form out loud for the little old ladies next to me then the three of us would attempt to discuss what information it was actually asking for… oh to be in the row behind us most have been amusing.

Anyway, the plane landed and despite my lack of knowledge with the language or forms customs and immigration were easy.  Oh I also found out my immigration fee is good for up to ten years (so, yes, we definitely have to come back and spend some time just in wine country).  My friend here gave me very detailed and awesome instructions on how to find a cab and we made it through the city with my arm still in tact.  I say that because the weather is so beautiful I really wanted to stick my arm out the window while driving but honestly, it would have been lost!  They drive so close here – imagine DC but with smaller cars and no thoughts about staying in lines or maintaining the laws of traffic.  I could have reached out and touched the car next to us multiple times!  OH – they all have manuals down here! 

Surprisingly my friend was home when I got here… she wasn’t feeling well therefore it was a perfect match.  I was tired and she wasn’t 100% so we took the day really easy.  Chilled out, went out for a very delicious brunch, strolled back, drank wine, ate in… oh we got a hail storm last night!  I was in bed around 9 pm because I was so tired.  All in all… good way to start a relaxing vacation.

good book

I’m hooked on books on ‘tape’!  I still remember the first one… Mom and I were driving across the Mid-West to my cousin’s wedding, so to occupy ourselves we rented (or purchased) Les Miserable on tape (or CD – whatever).  I think we got that because we were going to see the play later that year at the Miller but didn’t know the story.  Well, needless to say, if you know me then you know that is one of my all time favorite musicals!  And I honestly think it might have been because we first listened to the book.  While I’ll never really know that for sure, what I do know is how much I love listening to books on tape.  Therefore, now that I’m again in a commuting role, most mornings I catch up on the news via NPR and most nights I listen to whatever awesome book I have at the time (unless it’s after 7 pm then I’m strictly a Delilah fan all the way).  So I’m writing this because I want to share with you my latest book – it was awesome!!!

Tina Fey wrote a book called Bossypants.  It’s a book about her life and how she got to be who she is… but instead of just a general here is my life this is told in classic, sarcastic, honest Tina Fey style.  Awesome!  Not only does she write the book but she also does the audio reading… it was just really so great I think everyone should listen to it.  And no I’m not being paid or asked to do this, I just sincerely had a great time listen to the book and think everyone should try it out.  So, please, do and let me know what you think. 

life by chance… life by design

I recently made a declaration.  Declarations, in my opinion, have potential be rare, raw.  I almost feel like Julia Roberts in Notting Hill where she stands in the book shop saying ‘I’m just a girl asking a boy to love me’.  (Granted my declaration was not nearly that simple or even remotely close to that … and nor am I going to tell you what it was because that’s not the point!)  I’m guessing she felt so unsure and afraid, because of course with all declarations there are many consequences – negative and positive.  To be really honest, I was expecting myself to feel the exact same way… small.

However, that wasn’t the case at all to my situation!  Actually, even before I had made my declaration out loud I felt so much relief.  I took some time, really thought through me and knew where I wanted to go.  Yes, even my declaration will have positive and negative consequences and I, of course, want the positive side but I’m no longer frightened by the idea of the negatives.  Why?  I don’t really know, because it’s the same situation with the same paths as a few months ago but maybe it’s different because I said it should.  Or maybe it’s different because I know more or other information.

Either way, whatever the reason… whatever the situation, I encourage you to make your own declaration.  I don’t need to know what it is, but if we are anything alike, then maybe at least take the time to sit and think about it – the it that you have been putting off.  Who knows… before you know, maybe you’ll be dancing in the shower again!  :)

i got coal for christmas!

I have to say this past Christmas was definitely one of the best!    I don’t know if it was Mom’s new house or that I just really needed a break from life in DC but it was so nice to be home for those 10 days.  The trip began with a full day of being Aunt Chaz and an awesome I love you voice mail left late one night from Andrea – very awesome message (and yes it is still on my phone)!  Next up was the annual Savage holiday party with Mom’s house decorated beautifully and the food was amazing.  That was definitely the start of visitors coming and going along with me gaining at least five pounds.  I had such a great time catching up with all our Gratiot County family/friends – they are wonderful people. 

Next up is Christmas festivities themselves… we have the tradition of baking our goodies on the 24th, having a nice dinner, heading to church, and sometimes over to a friend’s for desserts.  This year however the dessert party was postponed until after I was already back in DC.  Instead Mom and I came home and just chilled – it was great!  Actually, now that I think about it not only did I spend the whole week eating I spent a good majority of the week on the couch (which is suuuuuper comfortable)!  …maybe that’s why I gained those extra pounds?!

Anyway, so we’re sitting there watching a Christmas movie, counting down the minutes until Santa comes when I heard it… he was coming early to my house!  Normally, he comes to my house just like everyone else is – after I fall asleep.  But this year, he was coming right at mid-night?!  (Can you just see the grin from ear to ear?)  Yup, Mom thought it might be fun to have our little family Christmas a few hours earlier than normal – awesome!!  …and then not so awesome…

I got coal in my stocking!  I don’t know if Santa thought 2010 wasn’t a very good year for me but man, really?, coal?!  …ok, it might have been stuffed with a little money and super cute in its little Santa hat! 

Soon after we headed to Grandma’s and had a chance to play with the rest of the family – always awesome to hang out!  We even got to see a 3-D movie with Grandma the next day – of course along with a little shopping.  In all, it was a very good time at home and fun celebration with all. 

annual ofn conference

Awesomeness!  So at the begining of November I was off to SFO for a work – it was the same annual industry conference I’ve been at for the past five years.  Yup, -kind of amazing!  The conference itself was to be expected, lots of good people to meet and network with, along presentations with my new job, but nothing workwise that was new.  However, after hours and the following weekend I had a lot of time to just chill in San Fran, catch up with friends, meet a couple of newbies, and have a few classic San Fran activities.

The first being able to watch the parade for the Giants after they won the World Series – talk about amazing!!!  I love baseball and just being able to be in the area with that kind of fan excitment is awesome… and let’s be honest, my two teams are not getting into the world series anytime soon.  Later that week a few of us went out bar hoping one night – it was sooo much fun.  Thankfully we had a couple of locals with our group so they took the lead and showed us around town, it was so much fun to dance and just, in general, have a very fun night letting loose with friends.  The conference ended with me finding time for a tourist type bus tour around the city (I saw the Full House house!!!!) and a very nice dinner with a few of us, along with the friend that I was staying the weekend with.  Very delicous food!  Actually, all my food that week was good.    My weekend was a blast hanging out with a new friend, also a local, doing the site seeing thing.  We decided to adapt a see a site have a drink theroy for the day… I’m now a super fan that all vacations should be like that!  Then my last day there was a typical rainy day, so I spent the day shopping, eating, and drinking with the friend I was staying with.  We totally veggied out and it was perfect! 

aoii visits!

Towards the end of October my AOII ladies came to visit… well sort of.  Actually they are being super healthy and running …so they entered into the Army Ten Miler race again this year – it just so happens that it’s also in my town, therefore I get to enjoy some extra time with them!   

I think they flew/drove in Friday evening, we had a great dinner and they got to meet one of my close DC peeps – so I was super happy to get a chance to blend the crews!  Saturday we spent the day wandering around town, mostly relaxing because I was not feeling well and they were chilling pre-race day type thing.  Sunday was the race, I got up early to see them race – yes, early for a Sunday – walked out to the race route a few blocks from my house with the cup of coffee and thankfully they saw me standing on top a bench (and someone else said he was going to cheer them on also but was a no show?!).  Everyone had tons of fun!  …later that afternoon we had lunch and hung out for a little more, just walked around the downtown area. 

Soooo glad to have extra time with them (I just realized we’ve been friends for like a decade – talk about good friends)! 

mom rocks!

The quilt is finished and the tickets are ready!  The raffle is on Oct. 1, 2010 to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Mom’s office. Tickets are 1 for $2.00 or 3 tickets for $5.00.  Let me know how many you want…. she will also be showing the quilt at the Ithaca Quilt Show on Aug. 28^th.

Just a reminder that the proceeds go to the CMDHD (Mom’s office) Breast & Cervical Cancer Endowment Fund that helps to pay for services of clients that are not covered under our Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening Program.

wow! this is a throw back

Jem and the Holograms …some good saturday mornings in the ‘house’!