Ack!

Hey-a guys! I owe you an update, and I'm sorry for being absent for 14 days. I fail.

So - big news coming on Saturday. Be patient with me?

In the meantime, I am going crazy. First, Panthers football. Need I say more? I think I do... See, I am a fan. Not a nutter, but a real solid fan. So, I am obviously disappointed in the performances by a large number of players over the past few weeks. I'm glad we have a bye week this upcoming weekend. Things need to get back in line. All that being said: I'm not really calling for Jake's or Fox's head. I mean, Orton threw 4 interceptions last week. Rough - but no one says anything. Every still jumps on Jake. Fox, yes - he does need to change things a bit. Where was the run on Monday night? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to see Jake throwing and making some awesome field-length plays... but still. Double Trouble could use some ground time. Anyway... I'm ready for Week 5.

Those that are interested in fixing up old houses and the like, I found a fun blog: designspongeonline.com. Just take a look and poke around. Good times.

Also, Fall is Here. The nights and mornings are starting to get chilly, and there's some talk of frost in the mountain counties. That's pretty dern awesome, if I do say so myself. Here's why: a) Pants. I love wearing them. b) Thanksgiving is coming up. And that means Christmas is coming up. My favorite time of year is the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. yay. c) End of Quarter/End of Year reviews are coming up. That's exciting to me because....

I've almost been here a full year. Well, 10 months, but still... the next few months are going to fly by (End of Quarter, implementing new systems, massive amounts of projects on my desk. This is a fast time). A full year isn't that long in the grand scheme of things - but after 2008, I'm taking this as a small milestone.

Update on the house - nothing much has changed. I'm still all packed up in my office, but I've picked 2 options for paints! I've got some samples that I'm going to throw up on the wall tonight (hopefully). I really want to be painting this weekend, so I'd better decide soon! Yeah, that's as far as I've gotten.

As for Jon - he's kickin' butt and takin' names at the brewery. Things are going really well for him. This is coupled with the fact that the Brewery itself is doing EXTREMELY well. Have you all seen the AT&T Commercial that's set around a brewery? Sales Guy says: "Man, you sure can Brew it!" Brewer says: "Yeah, but can you sell it?" Then you see the 'More bars in more places' stuff, and the Brewer turns around in a chair, all nervous: "We're going to need to expand!" I'm not saying that the commercial was the E! True Hollywood story of Olde Meck, but it is dern close.
So go get some Olde Meck beer! Their Meck-toberfest is selling around the city! Also, Total Wine will be carrying growlers at some point in the near future. Support Local Business! If you don't live in the area (sad), then plan to stop by if you come through town.

Okay - that's enough from me. Have a great rest of the week, and I'll be back sooooon!

Randomness to keep you interested :)

I'm not a huge fan of plain M&Ms. I love Reese's Pieces.

I love efficiency and organization, and I take pride in analyzing everything to improve processes.

These pieces of information cut across my work and personal life right now... so I'm spending a lot of time in my own head. The good news: I am making progress. Rooms are being cleaned out. Things are being recycled, revamped, stored, or tossed in the bin.

More soon ...

Awesomeness Ensues

I love Meatball subs. Unfortunately, I can't find a really phenomenal one in Charlotte. Pizza Peel comes insanely close - highlighted with amazing chips. But I found one that's a little closer to me at work, and all around the country: Firehouse Subs. Wow. I know I'm late to the game - but I'm a happy girl.

On a completely unrelated note, I love this flowchart: (hotlinked, source: getrichslowly.org/blog)

Whargarble

There are a million +1 things going through my head today.
Well, make that 1,000,002. I forgot to count that other thing.

I love 3 day weekends, but I loathe 4 day weeks. Everything is crammed in there and 50 hours of work needs to get done in 32. But, we make it happen, right?

I'm working on a plan to finish the house. We're looking to move in the next year or so, so I want to have everything nice. Well, I want it to be pretty nice so I can feel good about selling it... but I also want the house to just be finished so I can enjoy the last year or so that we're here. You know? So - I'm repainting the upstairs bathrooms, probably changing the mirrors and etc up there too... refinishing some furniture so we can use non-broken (but currently VERY ugly) items instead of the very broken ones we are using. I'm also hoping to organize all the little messes we have around the place. The goal is to throw or give away all the random crap we don't need/want. I'm hoping this major project does a few things: a) gets the house done and ready... obviously; b) helps prepare me mentally for the move; c) cleans some crap out physically; d) gives me a physical outlet without going and sitting on a treadmill or a bike

In other news: I'm walking in the Making Strides Breast Cancer Research Walk at the end of the month. Link for my page:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=12684995&pg=personal&fr_id=19946&s_src=PPCviewpage

A week of contrast

I join you again on a Friday... this time, on the other side of a wedding and an anniversary.

One of my cousins got all "married off" this past weekend in Rochester, NY. (Congrats P&R!!!) The wedding was beautiful, though a bit chilly ... The Bride was stunning and the groom couldn't stop smiling. What more can you ask for?!?! Unfortunately, the trip was short (36 hours total), so I don't have any great stories for you all. Well, except for the gay bachelor party that was taking place next door. And the wedding running out of beer - so my other cousin (N) went over to said bachelor party and hung with them for a while...

All of that is to say: it was a very quick weekend.

Then, the whirlwind weekend high was quickly erased with a Monday at work. Don't worry: I am still very gainfully employed - things are just shifting a little bit. I'll go further into it when I'm in a better place about it.

J and I also celebrated our second anniversary this week with a low key dinner and time together.
The next day, a friend welcomed a baby girl into the world.

And now, we're gearing up for a Labor Day weekend. We've got a few plans to attend a cook-out and I've got a live-draft...nothing big planned for once. I'm thinking we might actually get a few projects done around the house. It is wild to think that 2 years ago, we were zipping around Costa Rica - and now we're just looking to catch some z's.

It's a Celebration!

Wow. This week has been MIGHTY eventful.
Well, it at least feels like it was mighty eventful. Olde Meck debuted a new brew on Wednesday night: the Mecktoberfest. It is awesome. Seriously. If you're in the area, stop by the brewery and try it out. Mmmm... However, that phenomenal beer caused J to have a 15 hour day. Now, that's normal for some people, but it was rough for him: heavy lifting, non-stop running around, cleaning out the laudertun... I mean, that's rough.
I was also pretty busy on Wednesday. It was the first night of High School Bible Study, and my first night co-leading it. It was also my grandma's birthday. I tried calling a couple times. The one time she answered, she had no idea who I was. This has been the case for 6-7 years now, so I wasn't terribly surprised, but it did sting. I think she had a good birthday though. They treat her well where she is.

Last night was actually pretty incredible. After a regular day at the office, J and I went to experience a Chef's Table at our favorite restaurant. We earned a shed-load of points from dining there so often (yay Happy Hour) and finally cashed in our points for a delicious meal. I will now dirty-up this blog with food porn. Hide your children, grab a napkin, and please forgive me.

The Chef is from Morocco - and was the executive chef at the US/Morocco embassy. So, he knows what he's doing. The only problem: It is SO hard to understand what he's saying. We didn't let that stop us from enjoying ourselves.

The first course was a jumbo shrimp stuffed in calamari, sitting on some endive and radishes. There was a light citrus and spice something happening there and it was heaven. Yeah.

The second course was awe-inspiring. Seriously. I was inspired and in awe of this chef's talent. It was a pan seared Scallop (about 2 oz or so... imagine a small filet mignon medallion) and a roasted Fig, both covered in a sweet plum confit. Our favorite bartender brought the figs from the tree at his home. I have to tell you all - it was good enough to be an appetizer, main course, and dessert all in one.

The Third Course is a strong tie to the second: A Lobster tail and claw, poached in champagne and truffle oil. This was served covered with sauteed onions, and on top of some snow peas. I thought the claw was perfect and tender until I got to the Lobster Tail. It peeled easily out of the shell, and had absolutely no toughness to it. The onions were stand-alone amazing, but they accented the delicate lobster flavor in a way that I couldn't have imagined.

Our final fish course, the fourth course, was a salmon filet with steamed spinach, apples, and pine nuts. It was good - but we all agree, it was forgettable. It is very important that you read this: The Salmon was amazing. But, when you compare it with the other courses that we were served, it paled in comparison.

Our Fifth course was a real Filet Mignon. By this point, we were starting to feel a little full, so I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish. Luckily, I found some room in my belly. The filet was cooked Med. Rare (perfect), and served with goat cheese potatoes au gratin, asparagus spears, and cauliflower. The delicate sauces is really where it was at... so forgive me that I can't remember which was which. Just know that it was scrumptious.

And Finally - dessert arrived. A chocolate/coconut mousse served in a chocolate bowl, with fresh fruit and jello. Moment of criticism... Jello? Really? I mean, I get that it was homemade, and the presentation was pretty cool... but Jello? I could've done without that. That said: mmmmm - the mousse was light and creamy and so so so good. The mango, starfruit, and etc were perfectly tart to match the sweetness of the chocolate bowl.

Let me know if you have any questions... I'll be back at the restaurant soon, so I'll be able to ask for you.

Okay, back to the hectic week....
Today, we return back to work, dreaming about that plum confit. I miss it already. Mom and I are catching a plane in a few hours to head up to Rochester. There's a family wedding - so I'll be throwing my dancing shoes on for a few hours, and then coming home early Sunday morning. Don't worry - I'll get Panther updates regularly...

So! Crazy week! Next week should be calm, but maybe not. We're celebrating our 2nd anniversary (yay!) and working on our Fantasy Football Drafts. It'll be my first year doing any live drafts, so I'm pretty nervous about it. I realize its a game though, and am really in it to have fun - but I don't want to look like a doofus in the process! hahaha

I hope you all have rockin' weekends!

The Final Day - and problems with maps

Phew - we made it guys. The final day of "Boot Camp" has come and gone. I'm in a bittersweet place right now around it - but more on that in a bit.

Today was a bit easier than the rest of the days. Sgt. Roy gave us a hand drawn map of the area (South End) and we had to collect puzzle pieces and return to the gym. No problem! Except Sgt. Roy's map was... inaccurate. We'll leave it at that. Don't get me wrong - I knew it wasn't going to be great and to scale and everything - but man was it FUBAR! hahaha. My partner and I did the hunt as quickly as we could and returned to the gym at the 45 minute mark. Not bad at all. Then, we had a "thanks for everything" touchy feely ceremony and headed out. Good times.

To be honest, I had hoped for a little more out of today. But, I don't know that I had any more to give either. High humidity contributed to an already weak body - so they were probably right to make today a little easier.

All in all, it was a great week. I got a lot out of it. Now, is the hard part. I know that I need to work on my upper body and core strength, as well as Cardio. This week taught me that. The difficulty is going to be in finding the discipline to push myself every week. I need to go to the gym and work out, or go outside and run, or find a random log and do sit ups... But actually doing it when I don't have a Drill Sgt pushing me - that will be a challenge. So, while I'm grateful to sleep past 4:05 am now, I'm going to miss being accountable to someone.

My goal - to be more physically prepared at the next boot camp. :)

Thanks for going down this road with me guys. I'll keep you posted on the progress. In the meantime - I need a nap!