End of 2013

There is so much to catch up on! Since I last updated, I left for Christmas Vacation. I took the bus to Pittsburgh and my Dad picked me up. We spent the night in Pittsburgh, I had brunch with my BFF Jenna the next morning, and then my Dad and I drove to Cleveland to meet up with my Mom who was already there. 

Jenna and I

My sisters and my brother in-law arrived the next day and we had a nice relaxing low-key Christmas. After spending the week in Cleveland, I flew to St. Louis to see my boyfriend and his family, which was also nice and relaxing and low-key. I was supposed to fly back to DC on Sunday the 29th, but my grandfather passed away December 29th (more to come on this).

I changed my flight the day of to fly to Cleveland instead of back to DC, and took the entire next week off to stay in Cleveland with my Mom, along with her brother who lives out of town, and her sister who lives in town. Together, the 4 of us helped do all of the funeral arrangements. 

My sister and my brother in-law drove the boyfriend and I back to DC on the 5th. I can't remember the last time I had taken 2 weeks straight off from work, and luckily it was pretty slow when I was out so there wasn't too too much to catch up on. 

Last week was pretty uneventful - just work, cleaning up my apartment, and relaxing. The weekend was also pretty uneventful - the weather was cold and rain, I worked most of the day Saturday, the boyfriend and I saw American Hustle which was good (not great, just good in my opinion) at this super cute old theater (as in it used to be an actual theater) called The Avalon, and my friend Michelle came over to hang out on Sunday. 

This week I have been busy trying to clean, organize and make some space in my apartment for my cousin Jenny who is....moving to DC this weekend!!!! - more to come on this. 

That's all for now!

Weekend Update

This past weekend was really fun and really busy. I got home Sunday evening at 8pm and fell asleep at about 8:30 because I was so tired. 

Bowling was a really fun time, even if I'm not very good at it. 

Here is the boyfriend in action

Saturday the weather kinda sucked (super cold and rainy) but the cookie exchange party was a really fun time! I couldn't believe how many people came (at least 20!)

Weren't these the cutest invitations!

Sunday I saw my friend's 2 month old baby who was so tiny and adorable. 

Yesterday we had a happy hour after work to celebrate the end of our project we had been working on since August. After happy hour, I headed to Georgetown for a massage which was wonderful and much needed. 

The rest of the week isn't too busy, just crossfit, my department's holiday party, dinner at a friend's house, and happy hour on Friday. I just need to put the finishing touches on my Christmas gifts (assuming they all arrive in time as I've ordered all my gifts online and none have arrived yet), and do laundry. 

I also went to eye doctor today and my eye is almost 100% healed. I can see nearly perfect again (with my glasses on) and will be able to wear my contacts again around Feb or Mar of next year. Hallelujah! I can't wait! In the meantime I still have to do my drops hourly, the ointment at night, keep the plug in my eye, and start on Restasis. Not too bad if it means I can see!

Winding Down

Work has been steadily going from non-stop craziness to normalcy. The past 2 months I've only worked out a handful of times due to the perfect storm of working long hours, eye problems, and scheduling issues. However, last night I was able to leave work at 6:00 AND make it to crossfit! I feel like I'm finally back: I'm able to leave work on time, I'm finally able to make plans with friends, and I'm able to have time to work out. Hallelujah!

This weekend is jam-packed: birthday bowling celebration in Arlington, Cookie Exchange party in Alexandria, soccer in DC, and seeing my friend's baby in Maryland. So much traveling in just one weekend. 

Besides just working all the time, nothing else is new. I've been trying to order all my Christmas gifts as it is less than 2 weeks away and I've only bought 1 present. The weather has also been crazy around here. We had a snow day (aka work from home day) on Tuesday: 

I've also been cooking a lot lately. Here are some recent concoctions: 

Hangar Steak with salsa verde, plantains and guacamole

Shrimp Couscous: 

I've also made Skyline Chili, Penne w Ricotta and Spinach, and cookie dough for the cookie exchange:

That's all the updates for now. More to come soon. 

Thanksgiving / My Birthday

Thanksgiving went by so fast but was such a fun time. The boyfriend and I left for Cleveland very very early Thursday morning. My mom rented a house right on the lake that had 5 bedrooms: my sisters each brought him their significant others, plus our friend Jeet joined along as well making it 9 people in the house (my parents stayed at my grandparents house). It was so much fun all being in the house as opposed to a hotel, where we could all relax and hang out. 

View of Lake Erie from our bedroom 

My dad picked us up from the airport, and we drove to my grandparents house to change, and then did a 5 mile Turkey Trot race. It was sooo cold outside - I think it was about 20 and windy and snowing. It was really fun though - I walked it with my parents and the boyfriend ran it with Jeet and the brother-in-law. 

After the race we went to the house to shower and change, and then headed to my aunts house for Thanksgiving. She made a delicious meal for all of us and I had a great time chilling out with my family. 

Friday afternoon we all went to our hometown to get lunch, do some sightseeing, and shopping. Then we all went back over to my aunts house again for pizza which was also a fun time. 

Saturday morning I was supposed to fly out at 8am, but once I got to my gate they were looking for volunteers for a later flight which I happily took for a $300 voucher. Saturday was also my 29th birthday, and once I arrived back in town I took a nice long nap, and then headed to my friend Jesica's house for dinner and cake:

Sunday the birthday festivities continued when my sister and my brother-in-law took me out to lunch at Founding Farmers. They also got me mini cakes for dessert which were delicious. 

Today is Monday which means back to work. At least there's lots of good sales to keep my occupied (although I haven't bought anything yet). 

Almost There

This past month has flown by! I don't have much to catch up on other than the fact that I've been working non-stop. I just keep trying to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel and the fact that busy season is almost over, so I can finally get my life back. 

The boyfriend made it back home safe and sound from his trip to Saudi Arabia and I'm so happy to have him back. 

I've been having some eye issues lately so I've been forced to wear my glasses which is becoming quite annoying. I had an eye infection back in September that apparently never fully went away, and it just kept getting worse and worse and now I can't see properly out of my left eye (it can't focus on anything). I've been having to do drops, ointment, and lots of doctor visits and I can't wait to be able to see again!

Those are all the updates for now, more coming soon!

Happy Halloween!!!

Today is Halloween but it is 70 degrees out and sunny and humid so it does not feel like Halloween at all.

Last night we carved pumpkins at my friend Julie's apartment. It was so much fun! Jesica and I did a combined effort to make this guy:

Here are the group's pumpkins all lit up:

Besides carving pumpkins I'm not doing anything else Halloween related this year :( I had to work last weekend, and again this weekend, so I won't be attending any Halloween parties and didn't have a reason to dress up. Maybe next year I'll be more festive.

The boyfriend left me last week for Saudi Arabia so I've been flying solo all week, which hasn't been too bad since I've had to work so much. He gets back next week and I'm so excited to see him!

That's all I've got for now. More to come soon! Happy Halloween!!!

Lots of Tidbits

I haven't updated in quite a long time so I will try and recap as best I can:

- The other night I had to work late and then over to the boyfriends place. I told him I was starving and I came home to this delicious plate of food:

- Last weekend my sister invited us to an art festival but then couldn't end up going. The boyfriend and I still went and had a great time, and saw a pet pig on a leash there:

  He was a cutie but I don't think I could deal with the squealing. 

- As I've probably mentioned I've joined a women's soccer league that plays on Saturdays. Although our team hasn't won many games (so far we are 1-4) it's an awesome group of ladies and I have so much fun playing with them. 

- Two weekends ago the boyfriend and I went to visit Jenna in Columbus, Ohio for her birthday. It was such a fun time - the highlights included going apple picking, doing a corn maze, experiencing game day at OSU, and of course hanging out with Jenna!

- The last quarter of the year is the super busy time for my me at work. It's already started getting busy and will just keep ramping up from here. Let's hope I can survive until 2014. 

- Today at work we had a brown bag session with one of our founders.  Someone asked him what advice would you give to your 30 year old self and his answer was: be good to your kids and if you don't have kids, be good to your friends. I thought this was very good advice. 

- This weekend the boyfriend and I are

going to Roanoke. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing low-key weekend. 

- The weather has been crazy lately. A few days ago it was 90 and sunny out. Today the high is 57 and it's windy and has been raining all day. I guess Fall is finally here. So far I just miss summer. 

- The boyfriend is leaving me again at the end of the month to go back to Saudi Arabia. I'm hoping that I'll be too busy with work to miss him too much but we'll have to wait and see. 

That's all I can think of for now!