Christmas is Coming!

Hello hello! Christmas is just about a week away! Ahhh!!!! So excited, yet soooooo much to do still. December has been pretty awesome - partially, I'm sure, because I know I'll be heading home soon, and that always brightens my day. Without having to work Job #2, I feel like I have so much more free time.... and I'm happily filling that with working out at home and spending time with my Birdie princess!

Ok let's get all things Birdie out of the way.

- She has been extra cuddly and snuggly in bed, and I think she is ADORABLE.

- We discovered a new dog park for small dogs, and she loves it! Not only does she make lots of new friends (she's somewhere in the middle of that pile of dogs), but she's also mastered the A-Frame obstacle. Now she can run up and down it with no problem!

- She's also making new friends at Saturday morning small dog playtime (seriously, this dog hit the jackpot with us, haha).

- She helps me do my exercise DVDs everyday, and by help I mean she likes to crawl on top of me whenever I have to get on the ground to do sit ups. 

- We even had our first family picture taken at PetSmart. Yay for family photo. Boo for PetSmart's TERRIBLE attempt at creating a backdrop for pictures....

I know this comes as no surprise, but I am obsessed with Birdie. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!! Getting her was, hands down, the best part of 2015 for both Andy and I. :-)


Ok, so in other news.... Andy and I have also had the fortune of sharing several really good homemade dinners with friends. On the first night of Hanuka we had a vegetarian feast.

 

Bipul was in town, which was an added bonus. He and Andy were wearing matching hoodies, lol. Gotta love Costco!

On another night, Andy made Shakshuka for Will and Rose (sadly Anna was in Omaha visiting Bipul so she was sorely missed). Andy LOVES Shakshuka - I'll admit, it's pretty darn good. We have it about once a week at our house, so Will and Rose were very excited to finally try it.

As far as work goes, the orchestra is in full holiday swing. Kristin and I went to see them play the soundtrack live to Home Alone. I haven't seen that movie in so long. It was fun, but I'm good for another 10-15 years as far as seeing Home Alone is concerned, haha. I also arranged the annual brass quintet holiday concert at the hospital, which went over very well.

So there you have it! 

Only a few days left until we are heading west. I'll try to update once more before heading home for Christmas. !!!!!!!!!!!

Here come the holidays!

It's the Holiday Season! Things kicked off last week with Thanksgiving. Here's what went down.

Wednesday, 11/25
Andy dropped Birdie off at my office for a few hours. She was so sweet. After exploring for a bit, she made herself comfortable on my desk and took a nice nap. If only I could take a nap at work sometimes!

That night, after Andy got home from playing The Nutcracker (or Buttscratcher as we call it in our house), we got to cooking. I had the best time. We stayed up until almost 1:00am making different Thanksgiving dishes to have in our fridge at home.

With the Nutcracker scheduled during Thanksgiving week every year, the prospect of Thanksgiving with my family is impossible. This was my 9th Thanksgiving in a row away from them, and frankly, I just miss my mom's green bean casserole. I also miss being able to go to the fridge over the course of the weekend to relive Thanksgiving through the leftovers. So this year, I decided to make our own leftovers! I am STILL enjoying them - definitely one of the best things I've done for myself in awhile.

Thursday, 11/26
Happy Thanksgiving! This year was odd - Andy was in charge of making the turkey at his parents' house, which meant he left early in the morning to head out there. Since Birdie couldn't go to Thanksgiving, and also because she still can't stay alone for more than a few hours, I had to stay behind with her for a good part of the day. I'm sure you all realize by now, I'll do anything for my sweet little girl.

My coworker, Laura, knew Birdie and I would be alone so she invited us over in the morning. I cannot tell you how loved that made me feel. Birdie and I had the BEST time! Laura made muffins and banana bread and had fresh jam and fresh fruit, her daughter (who I love) was home with her pug, Kevin, and we all sat and ate breakfast, watched the parade and the dog show, and Kevin and Birdie had a great time together.

Birdie and I went back home around 1pm, and I made a butternut squash dish to take with me to Buffalo. Then I was off. I got to talk to my parents on my drive out there, which made me really happy. They had an eventful Thanksgiving of varnishing hardwood floors that my dad laid through their entire downstairs (a project that's been going on for a long time and took a TON of work), and then going to the casino for dinner. :-) I love my parents.

Anywho, I got to Buffalo - Andy had cooked up a storm. I honestly thought a year ago when he started showing an interest in cooking that it would be a phase, but he is still really into it and I have to say, he makes really tasty stuff. Lucky me! I got there right before dinner, so we ate, and then sat around for a little bit before I had to head back for Birdie. It was nice to see Ali, my sister-in-law who lives in Washington DC, and finally meet her 3-legged dog Jack who was a big pile-o-love.

Oh also Andy fell asleep after eating. His face was so funny, I had to take a picture.

Andy left at the same time I did, so we got back home together, grabbed Birdie, and then headed to Will and Rose's house for dessert part 2. :-) Luna and Birdie are getting better and better at playing together. Birdie even got a little too brave and attempted to chew on Luna's bone while hiding under the coffee table. Bad idea Birdie girl... don't take another girl's bone!

It was a long day, and I was VERY full by the time I crawled in bed, but that's how it's supposed to be, right?!

Friday, 11/27

I had to work. Boo. However I did go see Andy, Will, and Anna play the Nutcracker during office hours, so it could have been a lot worse, lol. After the show, Andy and I went to Anna and Bipul's for dinner, where we had their Thanksgiving leftovers. They made such good food, and it was awesome to be able to see Bipul while he was in town.

Saturday, 11/28 and Sunday, 11/29
The order of events over the weekend are a bit of a blur, so here's the weekend all jumbled together. Andy continued to play multiple Nutcracker performances, poor guy. But we still managed to...

- Make Fisher Scones. WA folks will understand.

- Decorate for Christmas.

- Take Birdie to the dog park. This is obviously not a pic of her there, but just one of the many adorable Birdie pictures I have on my phone. :-)

- See the final Hunger Games movie with Will and Rose. It was a little bit scary (however I am a wimp) but I liked it well enough. Certainly no Harry Potter, that's for sure.

- I also finished my book, "All the Light We Cannot See." If you are looking for a book to read that is beautifully written with a good story, I would highly recommend it. And with that wonderful adult book done, I am now back to my not-so-secret YA obsession, this time in the form of "Winter," the final book of the Lunar Chronicles. *snort snort, push up the bridge of my glasses, snort snort* I know. I am a total dork.

There you have it! Thanksgiving weekend in a nutshell. I should probably list all of the things I'm thankful for, but I just drank a lot of coffee and need to go to the bathroom, so I think I'll just end things here. :-)

Hope you all had a good one!

Gone to the Dogs

It's true! My world has gone to the dogs. One in particular - my precious little Birdie! I love her SO much. And now that I only have one job, I feel like I get to see her so much more. In fact, here's how I spent my first free Tuesday night...

She is covering me in kisses. I think she likes having me home too. :-)

Best new thing that has happened in regards to Birdie - Andy got her registered for the dog park! I think Birdie, Andy, and I all equally like going there. It's very nice!

We've probably been to the dog park 6 or 7 times at this point. You should hear her on the car ride there. She cannot contain her excitement - it's really funny.

Anna also gifted two nutcracker toys to Birdie. Thank you Anna!!

Sadly she has already destroyed the blue one (pictured above) but the red one is still holding on!

The temperature has been dropping over these last few days, causing Miss Birdie to shiver whenever she goes outside. To help, I got her this stylish sweater from TJ Maxx (as well as the red coat that she wears to the dog park). Andy thinks it's an old lady sweater, but I think she looks very cute in it.

And I got it right in the nick of time because.... we had our first "real" snow of the season. We had flurries once before, but this is the first time it stuck. Which means Birdie got to see her first snow!!! Mostly she just seemed very confused and all she wanted to do was eat it.

Look at her adorable snow beard!!

Can we just look at her sweet little face for a minute? I sure do love her.

Ok ok, I know. You all aren't obsessed with her the way I am. On to other things. Will turned 30!!!! Happy Birthday Will!

Hmmm what else. My boss had his appendix out, which made Job #1 my job a little crazy for a few days, but everything went well and is back to being relatively calm. Thanksgiving is around the corner and I'm planning to make a few dishes for Andy and I to have at home. Also with Thanksgiving almost here, our friends' families are coming into town! We have already seen Rose's mom Judith who Andy and I both love. Tonight I will get an awesome dose of Steltenpohl as Lisa, Sharman, and Eric are now all here. !!!! Can't wait!!!!! And Will's parents are also coming out this way too! Bipul too!!! Should be a fun week on the whole.

Goodbye Midtown

My history with Midtown Athletic Club is long. During my second year at Eastman, my friend Angela took me there to take a class called "Turbo Kick." I instantly fell in love with the club and became a member. Once I graduated and moved back home to WA, I cancelled my membership. So sad.

I came back to Rochester at the end of the summer. It was time to start building a life... I needed a job (or what would turn out to be multiple jobs). But being back in Rochester, I also felt like I desperately needed to go back to Midtown. And so I applied for a job and voila! I was a front desk associate.... and that job came with a free membership. Perfect.

My tenure at the front desk lasted a little over seven years. And so I shall do my best to list the best of times and the worst of times. We'll end with the good stuff, because on the whole, that's what I know I will remember most. :-)

The Terrible Horrible moments while working at Midtown Athletic Club

- Searching through the lost and found and finding someone's underwear. All. the. time.

- Being accused of not saying hello to someone because I am racist. Yes, that happened.

- Being accused of not saying hello to someone because I hate fat people. Yes, that also happened.

- Saying hello to someone, or asking how their day is going and receiving no response. I would often wonder (out loud) if sound was actually coming out of my mouth.

- Having members yell at you because of _______. Insert anything. Seriously, anything. It's happened.

- Having to run away from the desk to hide from a member because 1) they will trap you and talk to you for 30 minutes, or 2) because they are incredibly creepy and have found your work email and asked to get together to "play duets" sometime. No.

- Being referred to as "Blondy" by the COO of Midtown Corporate. I hate him.

- Watching members yell at my coworkers/friends to the point that they cry. We have all cried because of a member at some point. 

- Having things thrown at you... usually car keys, sometimes empty envelopes or other papers members don't want. 

Seriously, some very strange things have happened at the desk. People have actually asked us to put their contacts in their eyeballs for them. Another woman demanded we get her car for her because there was snow outside. And I do not use the word "demanded" lightly. The displays of entitlement were, at first, absolutely mind-blowing to me. Eventually you don't let anything phase you because you've seen it all! 

And so as you can see, dealing with the members more or less makes up all of the bad parts of that job. However! There are some incredibly wonderful people that are members at Midtown. 

- One time a member gave Andy and I tickets to go into a VIP room for a boxing match because he saw us wishfully hanging around outside. They were $30 a piece.

- One member brought Alyssa pancake mix, just because he knows how much she loves pancakes.

- One member (a pediatrician) regularly brings formula for Laura's new baby girl.

- Tons of members bring the front desk treats. Donuts and muffins on Sunday mornings, chocolates on Valentines day, and an embarrassment of goodies for the holidays.    

There are a lot of other wonderful member moments, although honestly the best members are the friendly people who pause every single day to say hello, ask how you're doing, remember details about your life and ask about them... two of my favorites are Matt Degma who always asked about and encouraged my running, and Tim Reitz who was always so friendly and asked me about my job at the RPO among other things. Both made me feel like they really cared.

So while some members were not so good, there are others that are very good. And the club is very good. The equipment is great, the pool is amazing, the classes are really fun. But the best most wonderful thing about Midtown was the people I worked with.

The Best of the Best while working at Midtown (in no particular order)

- For some reason that still is unknown to me, I was invited during my first few weeks of work to hang out with Lisa, Elizabeth, Emily, and Alyssa. Little did I know, those girls would turn out to be my longest friends that I've had here in Rochester (even though Emily doesn't live here anymore, we still keep in touch). I have been to every one of their weddings, and they were all at mine (except Emily who was busy having a baby while I walked down the aisle, lol). We've been there for each other through major life moments... engagements, weddings, babies, loved ones passing on... these girls mean everything to me. I truly love them. Fun times with these girls include... watching "Fat Bachelor," 6:00am boot camp, dog walks, a million and one runs/races, "brinner" otherwise known as breakfast for dinner, FroYo, but best of all... countless smiles and laughs. :-)

- Running. I would have never been the runner I was if it weren't for being at Midtown. Why? Because that's where I met Carrie. Carrie and I worked on Tuesdays together, and one night she said, "Want to train for a half marathon with me?" HA!!! I had only run one 5k years earlier and that was a massive accomplishment for me. Add 10 miles to that??? But here's the thing. Carrie can be very persuasive. And I'm glad she was. We ran every single training run together that summer and in September we crossed the line of our first half marathon together. I will never forget that feeling of accomplishment and to be experiencing it next to someone I grew very close to over all of those miles. And amazingly/thankfully, I've been able to share running with SO many of my friends at Midtown... Alyssa, Sarah, Kristin, Marcia, Katie, and Emily. How cool is that! Thanks to Carrie, I can now say I've run countless 5ks, a few 10ks, 4 or 5 half marathons - including one trail half marathon with both Carrie and Emily (NEVER AGAIN), and a full marathon!!! When I ran my full marathon, I carried a collage of pictures with me of all the people that ran with me during my marathon training - let's just say everyone on it (besides my mom, dad, and Andy) I met at Midtown.

- Other forms of fitness...especially ZUMBA!!!!! Before Midtown, my experience with exercise included the treadmill and Tae Bo workouts on VHS. Through Midtown, I discovered spinning. In fact my first vivid memory of talking to Anna was after we had both taken a spinning class together - the start of another amazing important friendship for me. Although a member of the club, Anna became an honorary member of the Midtown Front Desk family along with her sister Lisa. Kristin and I got into yoga together for awhile. I also discovered Zumba, and with that ZUMBA SARAH, haha. Again, another amazing friendship. Sarah and I also did personal training together, that was certainly new! And as Midtown brought different types of exercises into the club: tabata, boxing, etc I gave all of those a try, but never alone.... Katie, Kristin, Diane, Sarah, Anna... someone was always there to try it with me. :-)

- As the years went on, people moved shifts and new people were hired to the desk - my list of VIFs (very important friends) grew. Sue, Katie, Kristin, Ted, Laura, and Diane. And there are tons more people I've worked with and loved... Melanie, Julie, Marcia, Earl, Sandy, Spencer, and Kumba to name a few. We've had fun both on the desk (Ted taught me how to properly throw a ball, Kristin and I rated the flower arrangement each week, etc) and off the desk (hello Midtown Holiday parties!). 

- And last but not least, Seetha. My beautiful Seetha. Even though she only worked at Midtown for a brief period, she completely changed my life. I was driving myself crazy measuring food, counting calories, obsessing about every little thing I put in my mouth. And Seetha made it all go away for me. I know people think I'm crazy, but I do believe she saved me. To this day, Seetha still pops up in my life even though she's living in Arizona now. On Wednesday she called out of the blue - it was the best.

I know I'm missing a million things from my list of good things above, but I'll stop for now. Instead here are some pictures (in no particular order) of wonderful people and moments made possible by my time at Midtown Athletic Club.

   

Good times. AMAZING People. 

Fun fact - Andy used to work at Midtown too! He was on the Maintenance Crew one summer. :-)

So why leave? Because most of the people in the above pictures are gone, since my knee surgery I've barely used the club, and after 7 years I just feel like I need a little more time to relax. Thankfully, my friendships with my Midtown peeps are solid. These people are in my life for good. But I still have to admit...

It's still a little hard to say goodbye.