busygirl

2010 recap.

Busy, busy, busy year!  And so ready for everything 2011 will bring.  We've been so blessed this year admist the chaos of relocating and getting married.  I cannot wait to see what our next year holds...hopefully a few surprises and lots of laughter.

If you missed any adventures along the way, I included links to the posts so you can catch up!

January - a trip to Connecticut to celebrate my grandparents' 60TH wedding anniversary!  60 years.  What an amazing feat!  I love every moment spent on our family farm in Connecticut...hours were spent capturing the winter calm over the fields and rifling through old love letters from our ancestors.  Another trip to NYC with my pal Grace and my sister Melissa to see Martha in person (and in 5-inch heels!)  I miss city life, but suburbia has been treating me just fine.

 
February - was spent watching the Olympics.  So much in fact, that I was thoroughly convinced I should quite my day job and begin a career as a professional curler.  No?  Ricki got to experience a soup bone for the first time ever.  It snowed.  A LOT.  And I got the best Valentine's Day present ever...a SISTER-IN-LAW!  My brother proposed to this lovely lady, who I simply adore.  To the moon.  And back.

 
March - Life changed.  A lot.  I left my job for a new one and moved 160 miles north to Cleveland.  Back home.  Near both of our families.  It was a rough month.  I felt like I couldn't breathe between moving and job switching and wedding planning.  But it was worth it.  Plus it snowed a lot so we got some great (and hilarious) snowboarding in that month.  Also, I slipped on a banana peel and exploded wine all over my kitchen.  For realzies.

 
April - left behind the snow for a quick trip to sunny California to visit my grandma!  And took Adam to Disneyland for the first time ever...four big kids in Disney?  Stellar.  Back home Adam and I moved into a new apartment and struggled to unpack for weeks, coming up with some creative solutions to hold us over.  I joined and played on a volleyball team for the first time ever...and managed to return the ball over the net without injuring myself or anyone else.

 
May - my beautiful bridesmaids threw Adam and me a fabulous wedding shower!  Ricki turned 9 years young.  And the weddingmares began as wedding planning was kicked into high gear.

 
June - Down to the wire with planning.  Begin hyperventilating.  Drink margaritas with my FSILs.  And life is back to fabulous.  I discovered that Johnny Depp doesn't exist in the land of spellcheck.  We made a ridiculous amount of salsa.  I had an FABULOUS night with my favorite girls downtown for my bachelorette party!  And the World Cup was on, so Adam was deliriously happy.  And he got to golf.  Go him.

 
July - um, we got MARRIED!  Obviously.  And it was perfectly wonderful.  The dog ate watermelon for the first time ever.  My nephew was cuddly and perfect.  We spent hours cooking and entertaining, with some kitchen mishaps.  I couldn't believe all the free time we had after the wedding was over.  Summer was in full bloom.

 
August - We enjoyed every moment of summer.  Spent hours out on the boat and discovering new adventures downtown.  Our dog learned to Vogue. Adam's golf club became famous.  In Cleveland.  The dog decided he didn't like our nephew.

 
September - I stopped blogging so much because I just needed life to slow down.  My friend Wren moved back to Cleveland!  And I discovered that Windex will get a stuck ring off your finger.  Who knew. 

  
October - Adam turned 26.  My phone busted.  And we tried starfruit for the first time ever.  Adam dressed up as Sheldon for Halloween.  Finally.  I had to bribe him to wear a costume.  We said goodbye to the official end of summer as the cold air rushed in.

 
November - Life became crazy once again.  My grandma was coming for Christmas so Adam/Chris hurried to create a bedroom for her.  An election came and went.  Christmas Ale arrived along with the cheers of every Clevelander.  I spent a lot of quality time with my camera, enjoying the rare warm days in November.  And we officially booked our honeymoon for the next month.  My dog really loves Thanksgiving.  And we really love spending days at the waterpark!

 

December - What did we even do?  The dog was in a mood due to lack of attention.  My iPod suffered a horrible death.  We jetted off to Mexico for our honeymoon.  And returned home in time to celebrate Christmas.

 

Whew.  Busy year.  How was yours?

osu LOVES glee.

Only my alma mater would do something like this to celebrate the opening of our new union.  The best part?  One of my fellow Thetas is front and center in this! 

here we go again.

Tomorrow begins the final stage of our moving saga.  I was lucky enough to score a relocation deal with my company, so not only are the movers actually MOVING our stuff, but they're packing it too!  Which will most definitely result in weeks and weeks of unpacking because I'll have no idea where anything is.  I may be a bit of a control freak, but I just like to do things myself!

As happy as I am that we won't be sporting our 'college' look in our house anymore, (although very thankful for the borrowed furniture), I'm dreading this.  Dreading having a mess in the apartment.  Dreading the aggravation I'm going to feel looking at the piles upon piles of 'crap'.  We have so much stuff, too much stuff.  And most of all, I'm dreading going back.  Back to our house in Columbus.

I love that house.  I really didn't want to leave it.  It was my first home and it was supposed to be mine for much longer than it was.

I know that the trees will be blooming in the backyard, full of flowers and life.  The sunroom will have beams of sunlight shining through, just inviting us to sit and stay awhile.  My reading chair, so carefully placed in front of a window, just waiting.  I love it.

But it's not ours anymore, and life goes on.  On to the next adventure...cramming a houseful of stuff, into a 2 bedroom apartment.

it's official!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The long awaited moment has arrived.  Oh yes, the one that everyone has hoped for.

I'd love to tell you that months and months of planning led up to this, but to tell you the truth, we're just plain lucky.  It all fell into our laps and we're super excited to share the news.

You ready for this?

We're coming home.

To CLEVELAND.

And I couldn't be happier.

What?  How did this happen?  You need details?  I'll give you details.

It all started when a little birdie (one of our groomsmen no less) whispered that there might be a position opening up at his place of employment that may or may not be the exact same position I have now but WAY cooler and conveniently located near Adam's place of employment and everyone we love and hold dearly.  A resume submission, a couple phone interviews, a real looooong inperson interview and much nail biting later...I got it.  I GOT THE JOB. I still cannot believe it.

We're going.  We're really going.

I can't stop smiling.

I'm so ready to be back.  Where my family and friends are.  Where I can spoil my nephew like crazy.  Where the puppy can be spoiled like he should be.  Where Adam and I can live.  In the same city.  As in, coming home and seeing each other every day.  Not every few days like we do now.

Can't. Stop. Smiling.

To quote Adam, 'we're going to be like REAL married people now.'  (uh huh...)

We're also like REAL crazy people now.  Like those people who have to change jobs, sell their house, move and plan a wedding all in THREE months.  Red Bull's stock is going to go up on account of me the next few months.

So yeah, we're crazy.  Real crazy.  Crazy happy and I don't care if we don't get any sleep for the next 3 months.

Cause we're going home and that's all that matters.

c'est a little ridiculouz no?

Ten more inches?  You've got to be kidding me here Columbus.  You still haven't plowed from the last snowstorm.  Oh no wait, you still haven't plowed from the snowstorm before that.

The mailman won't even deliver our mail.  I can't imagine why...

beware of the snowbunnies.

Every since I taught Adam to snowboard a few years ago, our winter weekends have been spent either at Snow Trails or napping.  In an effort to drum up some more fun on the slopes we've been teaching some of our friends how to strap themselves to a board and throw themselves down a mountain without breaking a limb.  Finally feeling like we've had some success, it was time to teach my siblings...cause let's face it, any adventure with them is a hilarious one.

So off we went to Snow Trails yesterday afternoon with Megan, Chris and Amy in tow.  Our coaching began with getting the gear...I remember the first time I ever rented...they just shout questions at you - boot size!? board length!? goofy or regular!?  Here are some quick tips in case any of you end up braving the slopes at some point...

Boot size?  Pretty simple...go with your sneaker size or the boots will be too tight.  Oh and good luck getting them on, cause they are damn near impossible.  And you walk like you have a stick up your butt once they're on because you can't bend your foot.

Board length?  Depends on height, weight, skill, type of terrain...etc.  Basically just tell them how tall/weight you are and they'll figure it out for you.  Mine is 144cm, Adam's is 160cm.

Goofy or regular?  Simply put this means whether you ride down with your left foot in front or right foot (the binding is slightly tilted on the board).  Here's a simple test to figure it out:

1. Close your eyes.
2. Then from behind someone should give you a shove.
3. If you put your right foot forward then your goofy.
4. If you put your left foot forward then your regular.
5. If you fall on your face then you are a skier.

Ahh that always makes me laugh when I see that.  I've never actually tried skiing, but most people tell me it's much easier...maybe one day I'll give it a go.

Any way, once they got their gear on, we headed to the bunny hill.  Adam and I were all braced for a good hour or two of helping them stand up on their boards, learn to leaf, stop, control, not fall down, etc.  But they were naturals!  It was the easiest teaching session EVER.  Which was awesome since we were able to tackle the a couple bigger hills within an hour.  All three of them were zooming down the mountain with ease by the end of the night and we had minimal spills.  Well, we had a lot of spills, but most of those were due to our inability to properly get off the ski lift.  Seriously, it is the HARDEST thing about snowboarding!!  Oh and trying to walk to the lift with your foot strapped in to one binding?  That always takes a while to get used to.  Skiers have it so easy...

We had a blast though - I'm seriously impressed with how quickly they picked up the sport.  Naturals.  I can't wait to take them again!!!  I am bummed though that we forgot the camera - there would have been some great photos to post.  If you're in the Ohio area, Snow Trails is pretty much the best ski park around, although you can also hit up Boston Mills/Brandywine or MadRiver.

a special christmas request.

If you live in the Columbus area you may have already heard about a 7 year old boy named Nate Elfrink from West Jefferson.  At 16 months old, Nate was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and has undergone several bouts of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Nate's holiday wish is a simple one, to receive as many Christmas cards as possible.

If anyone has some extra Christmas cards laying around, please send one to Nate and bring a smile to his face.

Here's his address:

Nate Elfrink

2415 Taylor-Blair Road

West Jefferson, OH 43162

And stories related to him:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/15/MANYCARDS.ART_ART_12-15-09_A1_V8G0GL7.html?sid=101

http://www.columbusmessenger.com/NC/0/7519.html

http://www.blogher.com/his-last-christmas-wish

THANK YOU!!!!!!

friday all day.

Finally it's Friday.  This was an incredibly busy week.  The volunteer group that I lead had a donation/gift-wrapping event on Wednesday night benefiting the YWCA - an agency that provides housing to single women who are formerly homeless and struggling with mental illness.

Beyond offering them a safe place to stay, they work with each resident to create an individualized plan for personal and professional growth. With programs ranging from addiction counseling to GED tutoring, our goal is to help residents become healthier, better able to contribute to the community, and better prepared to attain and retain employment.

The event was a success, we were able to collect many, many donations for the women in this program and wrap them all up pretty with a bow.  Not to mention get to network/socialize with other young professionals.  Adn there was beer.  And wine.

Last night I was invited to attend a makeup party with some of my favorite girlfriends.  It was sponsored by Mary Kay and we had a blast getting facials, trying out some new eye looks and dramatic lipstick colors.  Mary Kay has some amazing new products coming out, and I was lucky enough to receive the new brow gel they just came out with.  I'm wearing it today and as someone who is constantly battling with my thick eyebrows, let me tell you.  It's awesome!

I'm not a huge makeup person, but I do love Mary Kay's skincare line.  And it's always fun to get to try out some new looks especially with girlfriends.  I'm hosting a makeup party in January for some sorority sisters and I can't wait!

Regardless, I'm glad it's Friday and that there's only six more hours of work to go until I can go home and snuggle up with Ricki and a Great Lakes Christmas Ale!

Oh and did I mention that our Christmas cards arrived?   Guess that means I need to get busy addressing them.  And finish designing my friend Sarah's cards for her and her hubby- so fun!

Too much to do and too little time...

nineteen2go: get moving!

Have someone on your list where nothing in the stores seems right?  If so get them a present that is something they can enjoy with other people and gets them out of the house!  I LOVE it when we get presents like this, especially ones that Adam and I can go do together or with our families.

*Note, the majority of these links are Columbus, OH based activities, but just google a search for activities in your area!

1. For that family with smaller kids, why not get them a zoo membership for the upcoming year!  It's something they can use over and over again and can invite family and friends to come join in the fun.  Or even passes to the local conservatory?

2. A night out - if you have a newly married couple, throw together some show tickets and a gift card to their favorite restaurant.  If you're trying to buy for that couple with three kids, there is no price you could put on FREE babysitting.

3. For a sports fanatic, why not grab two tickets to watch their favorite team play? 

4. Adam and I's favorite gift has got to be lift ticketsto ANY ski resort!  We never pass up a chance to go snowboarding!  If your gift recipient has never been, throw in a ski/snowboard lesson.  If the person receiving the gift is not a huge outdoors person, why not get passes to go ice skating...indoors.

5. Quick ideas for active boys/men - gokarting passes, skydiving, a flying lesson or a paintballing excursion are always appreciated. 

6. Quick ideas for active girls/women - try a spa getaway, a night out at a local event, cooking classes or tickets to a wine tasting.

disclosure: some of the above links are affiliate links which means i will be receiving a penny or two if you click on them and purchase something.  i'd love ya for it.  seriously.

see balletmet for free!

In the Columbus area?  Looking for an afternoon activity?  LOVE BALLET as much as I do????

Pack a lunch and come downtown for a sneak peek at BalletMet's NightMoves in these 12-1pm open rehearsals.

On Oct. 28, check out a rehearsal of Company dancer Adam Hundt's world premiere dwell, a mixed media contemporary work that will feature video images, audience participation and music by The Chemical Brothers. On Oct. 30, see the Company dancers rehearse with Dance St. Louis Artistic Director Michael Uthoff for his in g major, a romantic and intimate pas de deux (dance for two) that Uthoff choreographed for two dancers in Ballet Arizona who were about to get married.

See the entire NightMoves lineup--five new works and the Company favorite Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite--Nov. 6-21 in the BalletMet Performance Space.

The Nutcracker is coming in December too!  Tickets go on sale Nov 2nd for performances from Dec 11th through Dec 23rd!