Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday, and as usual, she is working...but I hope she takes a few minutes to enjoy herself. It really is too bad that her birthday falls during tax season. It's always hard for her to relax from January to April. In honor of her birthday, I just wanted to share some of the things I love about her.

My mom is probably the busiest and most driven person I have ever met. Some days it really annoys me, especially when I see her stressed. I just want her to RELAX!! But most of the time, I am impressed and very proud of her. I have always sworn by the fact that Mom isn't happy unless she has 10 things going on. She wears many, many hats. How many people do you know that can juggle 4 different jobs- freelance writer/tax preparer/Taxpayer Advocacy Panel member/Chamber of Commerce employee- how does she find time to do all these jobs simultaneously?!

Mom and I have a very close relationship that has grown over the years. I know I can call her anytime and she's available to give advice (even if it's not what I want to hear) or just to listen. She is the first person I want to call when I have news, no matter how big or small. I value her opinion greatly. That's not to say we haven't had our differences...we can fight like the best of them! There have been days where I'm ready to rip her head off, and I am positive she would say the same about me. We may not talk for a couple days...or even weeks, but things always go back to normal. We always start talking again as if nothing happened. Mom, I hope you know that no matter what, no matter how many times we fight and say things we don't mean, you are one of my best friends and I love you dearly. I love that she has turned into a friend and not just a mom.

I am grateful for the fact that she pushes all her kids to be better people. She has always believed in me, no matter what...and she helps me out in whatever ways she can. I can count on her to proofread anything...and as a result, have it sound 10 times better than it started. She has a true gift with words. I wish I was as clever! And I can recall many late nights with her, whether it was making a prom dress for me, or helping me scrapbook. She sees the fun side of things, and is always up for a good time. She can talk to anyone, and often lights up the room with her stories. Mom is definitely hard to ignore!

She has pushed me to explore the world, both with hosting exchange students as well as giving me the opportunity to study and travel abroad. I attribute my love of travel to her. Like me, Mom is always up for a trip...be it a short drive or an overseas adventure. We have traveled all over the world together, from mountains to oceans to big cities, Paris to Dublin to Santiago. And I have truly enjoyed every place we've been together- mostly because she loves exploring and adventure. She is game to try anything, and I am happy I take after her in that respect! I'm looking to traveling abroad with her again sometime.

So here's to you on your birthday, Mom! I love you!

Some pictures that highlight Mom's adventurous spirit:

Roses!

I have the sweetest boyfriend! After asking me the night before if he had to get me flowers for Valentine's Day (to which my answer was, of course, no...especially when we are trying to save up for a home!), guess what showed up at our door? A vase full of beautiful roses. I am normally not that into Valentine's Day, but any day you get flowers delivered to you is an OK day by me! Though, they almost didn't make it inside- I don't like to open my door to strangers when I'm alone in the apartment. Good thing the delivery driver had my phone number! :) Thank you so much, Will! I love the flowers, and I love you, too!






On a completely different note, I had some fun the other night decorating snickerdoodles with leftover frosting from the cookie cake I made for the Super Bowl party a couple weekends ago. I don't see cake (or cookie) decorating in my future, but I thought I'd post a pic of them here to demonstrate my ever-improving baking abilities. Maybe next time I will try to bake something more impressive- like a souffle! But probably not, seeing as I don't really like the texture.

As you can probably tell from some of the phrases on the cookies- I am not the best at picking words or phrases to use. 'Hello!', 'Yo', and 'Don't eat me' aren't really that common. But it's the best I could think of at the time!

House Hunting

Last Sunday Will and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went house hunting! Well, really condo hunting. We checked out several condos right downtown. They. Were. Awesome. After looking at a couple highrises, we are pretty excited to live in one. They have such great ammenities (like 24 fitness centers, "party rooms", 24 hour concierge, and swimming/grilling decks) and most of the places we looked at have amazing views. Highrises are a new concept in Nashville, so these places are brand new developments, and the developers are eager to get their units sold! This means some great deals are out there. We are leaning more toward condos at the moment, mainly because we think it would be fun to live right downtown while we are young and have no "extras" to worry about. And in 5 years or so, we can move on to a house and (hopefully) use our condo as a rental property. We are getting very, very excited to move, and looking at places has made it all that much more real! We are starting to see the urgency of moving on the places we like, too. 2 of the units we really liked are already under contract. I'll be sure to keep you posted- hopefully we'll be moving sooooooon!

Hello! Not much to blog about lately, but some good news!

After several months of taking quick, cold showers due to the small amount of hot water we had, we finally replaced the heating elements and low and behold- we have hot water! Glorious, wonderful hot water. I no longer have to decide whether to wash my hair or shave my legs...I can do both in the same shower!

I know I complain about this apartment a lot. It's really not that bad of a place (minus the leaking when it rains hard), but being able to take a nice long, hot shower makes it sooo much better. In all honesty, I'm pretty proud of the work we've done to get the place into the shape it is. It's not perfect, but definitely presentable. Maybe someday soon we'll put doors on the bathroom!

What a difference 2 years makes!

Mom just posted a blog with pictures of Ella playing in the snow. One of the pics struck me as very similar to a picture we have of her from a couple of years ago. When I looked up the older pic, I found something interesting. The first picture was taken on 1/21/07...almost exactly 2 years before Mom took the newest ones! After looking at them side by side, the pics aren't too similar, but they are both cute pictures of her, so I'm going to post them anyway (because I'm the aunt, and I can post as many pictures of her as I want.) She is looking less like a baby and more like a little girl everyday! :)

16 things

Leslie just did this in her blog, and then challenged everyone else to do the same, so here goes nothing! 16 things about me right now, each statement starting with "I":

1. I hate doing laundry. I love the smell of clean clothes, especially when they're washed with ERA detergent, but I can't stand folding clothes. I generally just pull things out of the dryer as I need them, which doesn't go over well with Will. Unfortunately it seems I am always doing laundry, so I guess I will just have to get over my hatred. Speaking of which, it's time to switch some laundry right now.

2. I am starting to experiment more in the kitchen. No earth-shattering culinary delights being created, but I am trying to make different dishes at night. I've been baking more, too, because I love the way the apartment smells when cookies or bread is in the oven. I'm also slowly getting better at having multiple meal elements come together and be ready to go to the table at the same time. I used to be terrible at timing in the kitchen, but I'm getting the hang of it.

3. I have an irrational fear of the ocean. I think the ocean is beautiful to look at, but I unfortunately don't do so well being in the water. This phobia has creeped up on me in the past couple years. I think I've seen one too many shows about shark attacks, and even though I know the likelihood of being attacked by a shark is not great, I still freak myself out when I'm in the water. SCUBA diving would probably give me a heart attack. Hence the reason I would like to become SCUBA certified. Gotta attack those fears somehow!

4. I am becoming aware of the fact that I'm growing older. It was definitely realized this weekend when I opted to drink far more water than beer because I didn't want to wake up with a hangover and ruin my day in the mountains. Not too long ago I was perfectly capable of drinking all day AND night, and feeling fine and even goin to work the next morning. Lately, though, just a few cocktails are enough to leave me feeling pretty awful the next day. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

5. I check my email, Facebook, and even people's blogs FAR too often. I am on the computer researching all day for work, and a quick check of my email, or a glance at status updates on Facebook is a great way to relax my eyes and concentration for a minute or two. My bosses encourage us to take breaks when we feel are losing focus, and I love taking a second to read up on what's happening with friends and family.

6. I absolutely love when I answer my phone and hear my little niece say "Hi, Meaghan!" No matter what my mood is, hearing her talk always lifts my spirits...even if I can't really understand what she says all the time. She is so funny at this age, and I'm glad she thinks of me when I'm not around...and that Molly and Mom call me when she's in the mood to "chat".

7. I went from having no cable for about 2 years to being obsessed with any shows on Bravo (the reality shows...embarrasing to admit, but once I start watching, I can't stop!) or HGTV. I enter to win the HGTV dream home once a day. I know I couldn't afford the taxes on the multi-million dollar home, but it's nice to dream, right? Maybe my mom could help me turn it in to B&B...and she and Dad could retire in Napa and run it for me.

8. Speaking of TV, I have "power hour(s)" every night while I make dinner. I watch 2 episodes of "Cash Cab", followed by one episode each of "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune". If I ever go back to New York, I think it would be awesome to ride in that cab! Van Cab #7N78, I'm coming to get you!

9. I haven't been to a live concert in months...and that makes me sad. In Chicago I saw live music all the time...and that tapered down a bit when I lived in Denver...and now here in Nashville I have yet to go to a show. That in itself is ridiculous. I live in Music City! I'm making it a goal to see at least one show a month.

10. Another sad thing to admit- I haven't read a book since the first week we moved to Nashville. I don't know why that is...there is a library right up the street from our apartment, and I enjoy readin. I'm thinking getting a library card should also be on my goal list. If anyone has any book suggestions, please let me know!

11. I have a travel bug in me again, especially since going to Colorado last weekend. I love, love, love to travel. Will and I have several weddings to attend between now and October, plus (hopefully) an extra trip to Houston to visit my family, so I'm sure plenty of traveling will be done, but really...I would go somewhere every weekend if my finances allowed for it. Nothing beats a packed suitcase, a plane ticket, and a new (or not-so-new) place to explore.

12. I am craving sushi. Similar to my live music scenario, I went from eating sushi several times a month in Chicago, to only having it a few times in Denver, to not having it at all in Nashville. I have read some good reviews about a couple restaurants downtown. Now, if Will ever has a weekend off, maybe we'll be able to check one of the spots out!

13. I have a love/hate relationship with scary movies and tv shows. I love to watch them and get that creepy, heart-pounding in your throat feeling, but I often have trouble forgetting about them once the show's over. My imagination runs wild and I freak myself out!

14. I would love to learn how to analyze dreams. Lately I have been having some vivid, albeit, weird dreams involving odd scenarios and people that I've known for a long time but haven't spoken to in years. I would love to understand what these dreams mean, if anything at all. Perhaps a dream book should be my first library rental?...

15. I love going to the grocery store. I don't really know why- I'm not that fantastic at cooking (see #2) and I certainly don't have a bottomless budget to purchase whatever I would like. But I thoroughly enjoying walking up and down each aisle and seeing all the types of food that are there, and trying to imagine all the things I could make. Same goes for Sam's Club. I am in awe of anyone who buys and actually uses a 10 lb can of olive oil, or 25 pounds of frozen chicken.

16. I find it terribly difficult to get out of bed before 8:00 AM during the week, but for some reason I am up with the birds on the weekend. I guess it's easier to wake up when you know you have all day to do whatever you'd like.

Finished that just in time for power hour!...and to switch laundry. That was fun, though- thanks for the idea, Leslie! Hopefully everyone has a chance to write one up themselves.

Estes Park and Steamboat

Oh how I love the mountains! Seeing work friends, enjoying a beautiful drive through canyons to get to Estes Park, having a productive work meeting, loving the lodge B&B we stayed at, and digging into a tasty dinner were the highlights of Thursday and Friday. It was great to put in some face time with work people, and even nicer to catch up with them in a relaxed atmosphere.

The rest of the weekend was spent in Steamboat Springs with our friends Paul and Erica. I will never get tired of driving through the mountains, and the drive from Estes Park to Steamboat did not disappoint. We spent our time in Steamboat apres-ing at Slopeside Grill at the bottom of the mountain, soaking in 2 different hot springs, going down a fantastically fun water slide into the hot springs, having drinks and dinner at Rio Grande (one of our favorite Colorado restaurants), and snowmobiling! We had a great time, and of course, had to return to Nashville way too soon. Now, it's back to reality...Will is in class all this week learning how to rock at being Mr. McDonalds, and I'm trying to stay warm while I work at home.


Here are some pics from our fun weekend!

The great view from our room at the Taharaa Lodge in Estes Park:

Will looking good with some rabbit ears. We went snowmobiling around Rabbit Ears pass, which is around 10,000 feet. The snowmobile company picked us up at this motel in town.

Our fantastic snowmobiling get-up: Snowmobiling really gives you freedom to be fashion forward...note my neon goggles. Awesome.
My driver for (most) of the day. I opted to be a passenger instead of driving my own sled so I could take in the gorgeous views, but really can you blame me? Look at how pretty the view was:

Gorgeous...why did we move away from this?!

Unwinding after snowmobiling at Strawberry Park, some of the hot springs in the Steamboat area. After dark, clothing is optional...though we opted to go during twilight hours so we didn't see any nekked people. Those hot springs felt AWESOME!!