Saturday, December 31, 2011

365, Day 365!!!

This is probably the only New Years resolution I have kept up with beyond January 2nd of any particular year, and Project 365 was a great success. The 2012 edition of 365 starts tomorrow!



365, Farm School Days

I had another reunion of sorts tonight, but this time with a friend that I haven't seen in several years. Kate and I were good friends during our time at Farm School, and then we also were at Tech together in 2005. Facebook has allowed us to keep up with major and minor events going on in each others lives, but it was great to see each other in person. I also got to meet her amazing fiancé, and they are perfect for each other!



Thursday, December 29, 2011

365, Yummy Reunion

Had a great dinner and reunion with Megan tonight. Two or three weeks of not talking might not be worthy of the term reunion to most people, but when you share a mind, it totally is.



Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

365, The Gym

I expected the gym to be a ghost town this morning, but there were a surprising number of people there. Go figure!



Friday, December 23, 2011

365, Warm Cookies

I volunteered to help Carter wrap presents for the girls, and in return I got warm cookies! Delicious!



Thursday, December 22, 2011

365, Santa Visits CS

The Creative Director provided some amazing comedic relief at the end of the day, which culminated in this picture. Ingrid is afraid of Santa so we thought if Carter and I posed with him, she might see that it was ok. It didn't work, but this picture will provide entertainment for ages!



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

365, Amazing

Liesl is a champ; end of story. She handled the procedure quite well and although she was a bit wonky from the anesthesia, she took it like a pro and got to come home this afternoon. Go Bug, go!

Soon after I got the AMAZING news that she was home, I was walking outside and saw this flower and it reminded me of her. Yesterday was freezing outside, today it wasn't as freezing, but despite this bipolar weather, the flower still bloomed and looks great. Sure, Liesl has spent more time in ICUs than we would like to count, has had more procedures in her 10 months than most people have in a lifetime, but she is still a wonderful and amazing little girl and blooms on a daily basis! Her personality is easy going, but she has made it very clear that NOTHING will get in her way. We love you, Liesy Bug!



Ing's Ballet Class

I had the opportunity to go and which Ingrid's ballet class on Sunday morning (along with her entourage) and I just HAD to take pictures. I am still learning my new camera and couldn't get the settings quite right, but I got a few keepers!



Such a goofy girl!



Liesl desperately wanted to be part of the class.



Safe in Mommy's arms.



FULL. WALL. MIRRORS.



Clara costume.



Spectators.





Ballerinas of the family.

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Brave Bug

Liesl reports to Children's super early tomorrow morning and is scheduled to have another round of sclerotherapy at 8 am. The doctors have told Carter and Jon that this will be an outpatient procedure, but its anyones guess if she will actually be released or if she will have to spend some time in the PICU. Of course we are all hoping to see her tomorrow night at her house, but there are a ton of unknowns. Prayers / good thoughts / Christmas miracles / crossed fingers / etc are welcome and appreciated!



365, Colors!


Sunday, December 18, 2011

365, Wrapped and Ready

Not only am I done with my holiday shopping, but all the gifts are wrapped and under the tree! Somewhere between wrapping presents, watching a Christmas show on the travel channel and Ingrid singing Christmas carols, I reached my limit of holiday allowed per day. And I wasn't even with Ingrid all day, but I was with her long enough to get my least favorite Christmas songs stuck in my head. Its a good thing she is so darn cute!

And on that note, Scrooge is calling it a day :-)



Saturday, December 17, 2011

365, Christmas Party

I went to my grandparents Christmas party this afternoon and immediately knew that this was going to be my photo of the day... This is an ornament that I made for Poppa in 1990 when I was 4 and they are SUCH good grandparents that they still hang it on their tree. Luckily my taste has matured over the last 21 years!



Friday, December 16, 2011

365, Free FroYo?!

I had a doctors appointment in Farragut today and decided I really needed some frozen yogurt before I got back on the metro. I went to one of my favorite yogurt places, froZENyo, and made myself a yummy bowl. Their flavor selection was a bit lacking (probably because its DECEMBER) but even so, I found a few good flavors. Right after I put my bowl on the scale to pay for it the cashier knocked it over, so I went and made another one. I went to put the second one on the scale and he told me it was free. My reaction: AWESOME! I love froyo and I love free things, so it was a match made in heaven.



Despite how the photo looks, I assure you there was $3.50 of froyo under the cones and graham crackers!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

365, Amazingness

At one point during my short career at KG, I told someone on the phone that they were amazing. The call was recorded by Brady for other reasons, but he ended up discovering this awesome slice where I say "you're amazing!" with an extreme level of enthusiasm. It has become a running joke and we have toyed with making it a ringtone or something just to hear it on a daily basis. Fast forward to tonight, Megan took care of business once and for all!

Oh, and when we have dinner one person provides the meal and the other the dessert... the skittles were what I brought for dessert. Something tells me Martha Stewart is not pleased...



Wednesday, December 14, 2011

365, Hidden Talent

If the whole graphic designer thing doesn't work out, turns out I am a fairly fast envelope stuffer.



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

365, Geek Out

During the retreat out in Arizona, Rob unveiled our amazing new business cards. Its a fairly thick hard plastic that includes a 4 gb flash drive. Nerdy? Yes. Super awesome? Most definitely. 

We each only have a handful of these and are really just in case we need to get files to a client, but I love showing them to anyone and everyone who will look!



Liesl is Amazing

Last week the Washington Post ran two articles about a baby at Children's hospital with the same condition as Liesl. Carter said that the article is the EXACT same as what she and Liesl went through (yes, there really were 32 specialists in the delivery room).

High-risk birth at Children's Hospital requires skilled team

With help of Children’s Hospital, a couple welcome their daughter into the world

Not that anyone needed proof that Liesl has been very fortunate, but this certainly makes us appreciate each and every blessing!

Monday, December 12, 2011

365, A Quarter Century

I celebrated the big 2-5 today and it was a wonderful, low-key day. Carter and the office got me cupcakes in the afternoon which was totally unexpected and exciting. I had pizza with the Schultz clan followed by some yummy cake and baby giggles. Carter, Ingrid, and Liesl are all fighting a nasty cold and have raspy voices and hacking coughs, but it's particularly sad on Liesl. Despite feeling rotten, I got a few good smiles and giggles from Lies, a hug from Ingrid, and an awesome necklace and overall day from Carter.

Growing up my family respected that I really hated having my birthday so close to Christmas. I hated it so much that I was called, and rightfully earned the title of, The Grinch. Every year it was a given that no decorations would be put up until after my birthday, and if that meant the tree had to freeze outside, so be it. Today when Carter was out getting cupcakes, she knew not to get any Christmas ones, which was probably pretty hard knowing how much she loves the holidays. Its the little things that mean the most.

On top of that, a ton of people wished me happy birthday on Facebook throughout the day which also put a smile on my face. Based on today, 25 is going to be a good year!



I swear there really are 5 pink candles.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

365- So Long, Arizona

Spending the week in Tempe was wonderful and amazing and I'm already looking forward to my next trip. Awesome!



365, Botanical Gardens

We went to the Botanical Gardens today and it was amazing!



Thursday, December 8, 2011

365, Cactus Family

Apparently they come in all shapes and sizes. And tonight I even saw an inflatable cactus with a santa hat. Yep, I'm in the desert.



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

365, The Caramelizer

That was the name of my drink this morning, and it was delicious. I had to go to the website to look up what was actually in it and it is their 3 bean espresso roast, caramel sauce and Dutch chocolate blend milk. I'm not much of a coffee drinker but this was perfect, especially since it was 20 degrees colder in Tempe than it was in Alexandria! At least it isn't supposed to snow here on Thursday, so I'll stop updating the world on the temperature variations.



My eyes were really bugging me today and I had a hard time figuring out why... I wasn't straining them but they seemed really tired (but the rest of me wasn't after that caramelizer). Suddenly it hit me that I am in the desert with zero moisture in the air and it is drying out my eyes. By the time I leave I will either have adjusted to the dry air or have raisin eyes.


Monday, December 5, 2011

365, Now THAT is a grid!

I've never seen a grid quite like this that extends to infinity (except when there is a mountain plopped in the middle, but more on that later).

Landed in Phoenix this afternoon everything is going well. It seems I may have brought the cooler weather with me and today it was actually 3 degrees warmer in VA! While it is only 9 pm here, I'm still on east coast time and I am wiped out. All is good on the western front.



Sunday, December 4, 2011

365, Sleeping Baby

Even while napping, she is missing one sock.





I head out to Arizona in the morning and I'm really looking forward to it. Outside of going to Hawaii, I have never been off the east coast so this will be quite an experience! I'm going out for a retreat for work (everyone else lives in Arizona) so its a business trip, but I'm sure I'll manage to have some fun too!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Thursday, December 1, 2011

365, Accidental Christmas Spirit


Test Shots

Just went outside to play with my camera... I don't immediately know how to do everything which is always slightly irritating for me, but I'm still very pleased with it overall. Just need to play with it more and check out all the different settings.

These are 2 photos that came out well- they have only been cropped, no photoshop magic or edits here! (Click to see them larger.)



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

365, My New Camera!

I have been drooling over this camera for the last six months. I have gone to the store to hold it and make sure I was still in love with it several times during those months. Today, finally, I was able to walk out of the store with it. I was going to wait until Christmas (as some of it will be from my parents) but I'm heading out to Arizona next week and wanted to be able to have the new camera. I haven't really played with it yet, but I can tell its true love. Can't wait to spend some serious bonding time with it!



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

365, Serious Puddle

I had to run an errand today and when I walked outside and saw the torrential downpour, I quickly turned around and begged to borrow Carter's rain boots. Being the fabulous sister she is, she let me wear them, and its a really good thing she did! I had to go a whopping two blocks, but this puddle was the real deal. I'm so glad she listened to the weather forecast (as opposed to me) and saved me from ruining my shoes!



Monday, November 28, 2011

365, Homey Touches

Put some stuff up in my cubicle today to make it look like someone actually works there...



Saturday, November 26, 2011

365, My Car! Finally!

It seems like a ridiculous amount of time elapsed between Wednesday, when I signed the paperwork for the car, and this afternoon, when I finally got to pick it up. BUT, its in my possession now so I am a happy camper! It is a Corolla, which is an actual car, (not an SUV or truck like I am accustomed to driving), so it will take some getting used to. My biggest worry was not having automatic headlights (yes, even the Expedition had them) but in my 8 hours of having the car I haven't forgotten to turn them on, nor have I left them on and killed the battery. I am seriously hoping this trend continues and simultaneously awaiting the first time I kill the battery. One of the more exciting features is that the car has an auxiliary port so once I get the correct cable, I can connect my iPod directly to the speakers.

I am a rare breed for more reasons than we should list at any given time, but it is further evidenced by the fact that I am almost done reading the car manual. Yeah, that book that comes in the glovebox- I'm reading it cover to cover. I am REALLY not a car person and don't understand the finer details, so I figured reading the manual would at least give me some base knowledge and help me understand the various features, etc. And, I'm just a nerd that reads manuals. Most of it is pretty standard but its not a dull read at all, and the section on airbags is fascinating. Not even kidding- there is some seriously cool technology in the car that tells the airbags when to deploy or what type of passenger is in the front seat in a ton of different scenarios. I never thought I would be saying this, but if you are as car-illiterate as me, the manual is very useful and interesting read. And don't laugh about airbags being fascinating until you have read that section in your own manual :-)






Friday, November 25, 2011

365, The end of an era

I bought a car on Wednesday (or at least signed all the paperwork), and today we turned traded the Expedition in for my 2009 Corolla! The Expedition will be missed from the fleet as we have had it since 1997 and it was the family car, then Carter's car, then my car, and finally Alex's car, so we all have memories of driving around AVA in it. A lot of my memories are of dreading foul weather because when it rained outside the car, it also rained inside the car. On the drivers head. But hey, thats what builds character, right?!

My car is still being certified and cleaned etc, (it had literally JUST come in when we were at the dealership) so hopefully I will pick it up tomorrow morning!



Also, I was going through my November blog posts from last year and realized that the 23rd was the anniversary of having all my teeth! (11/24/10 blog post)