Sunday, January 17, 2010

weekend






Hi!
I can't believe the weekend is almost over. I worked on Friday then went to dinner with some friends. Work was busy the past couple days and I picked up overtime so it was nice to unwind. Lauren was in town so we all met her at 5 Loaves, really yummy food, I have never had anything bad! Lauren moved to Columbia this month to start anesthesia school, so she stays pretty busy, it was really fun to catch up with everyone. They all headed out to a bar afterwards but I went home, Carl had just gotten back into town from a business trip, so I gave him my leftovers and we turned in early.
Carl and I had a pretty good weekend, it was really rainy on Saturday but we went out and met some friends for the playoff games. Sunday was gorgeous and we got tons of errands done. On Tuesday we ended up buying a Toyota Highlander and I love it, love it, love it. All the extra space the Highlander has as opposed to my old car made errands much easier. I got to show it off to my friends on Friday but I posted some pics. We also organized the office on Saturday and moved tons of furniture so, here are some updates pics of the house.
Now, I am going to get ready for the work week. I just did a yoga video so I feel calm and relaxed and am going to enjoy the rest of my Sunday night. I think it will involve the Golden Globes and popcorn.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Hawaii Pics





Maui trip

Ok, I am going to attempt to post on our trip to Hawaii in December! I hope I can remember everything. We went to Maui for Robyn's wedding December 4-10. Robyn and I went to UVA together and worked at Smoothie King! (Side note, in the Dallas airport Carl and I saw a Smoothie King, perfect!)
Carl and I left from Charlotte NC, we stayed with Brooke and Mike the night before and got up at 2:30 am to park the car and make our flight. The flight was long but tolerable and we arrived in Maui around 4:30 in the afternoon. There was a little rain and a light haze but still gorgeous! The vegetation and all the plants were amazing. We checked into our hotel and headed to the PrePlatt party and met up with Robyn. We crashed pretty early that night.
The next morning we went to an amazing breakfast place Kihei Cafe, the guy behind the counter had on a USC hat (Carolina not Cali) which was a fun coincidence, turns out he used to live in Charleston and before that DC. Carl figured that meant we would be moving to Maui as well. After breakfast we spent the day on the beach then got ready for Robyn's wedding. Her wedding was gorgeous! She looked beautiful. The ceremony was outside with an amazing view of the ocean and the weather was perfect. They wrote their on vows and they did a great job. Their reception was at the Four Seasons at Spago, it's Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and the food was amazing. It was such a great wedding!
The next morning we woke up pretty early and watched the Redskins/Saints game, the skins lost. Then took a trip to the lava fields. The lava rocks looked sandy and porous but they were so hard and some crazy woman was sitting out sunbathing, it was weird. That night Carl and I drove into West Maui for dinner and saw an amazing sunset.
Monday, we drove the road to Hana. It is about 45 miles but takes hours, because the road is so narrow and one lane it makes you drive slow. We saw waterfalls, a bamboo forest and amazing views. This took all day and we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. The last stretch of the road is unpaved for about 20 miles, the rental car agreement tells you not to drive that route and to turn around but we kept going! The guidebook told us it wasn't that bad and if you turn around you miss more great views and it takes longer to get back. The guidebook lied about the road, there were huge holes and rocks and it was really uneven. We ended up breaking a part of the car in the front but we turned it in and the rental company didn't notice!! Hope a Hertz rep doesn't read my blog!
Tuesday and Wednesday we stayed close to the hotel. We went to Big Beach, I got a massage, we got in some pool time. It was so relaxing! As soon as we arrived I felt my stress fade.
Thursday was our last day and we got lunch in a little town known for colorful locals and in our first 5 minutes there Carl hit another car! We were parking in front of the restaurant and the car belonged to the cook! But it was just a love tap, no damage done. We heard such good things about the pizza we decided to stay and even though the first 5 minutes were a little uncomfortable, the food was amazing. After that we walked around, did a little shopping and got gelato. Homemade pineapple gelato in Hawaii is just as good as it sounds.
The town we were in (can't remember the name) is known for it's windsurfing and while we were in Hawaii, huge waves were coming in all week, it was known as Jaws. We went to a great lookout area and saw so many surfers, they looked like the guys from TV.
We left that night, our plane was delayed but better on the way home than the way there. If anyone wants to go to Hawaii and needs advise let me know, there is still so much I didn't include in the post!
Here are some beautiful pics!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Car Shopping

Well, Carl and I have been car shopping really. So far, on the list we have considered--
1. Nissan Altima
2. Acura TL
3. Acura RDX (used 2007 and new 2010)
4. Honda Pilot
5. Toyota Highlander

Not to mention all the other cars I have test driven!
I am worn out. We might be getting close but I don't want to jinx it. Please put positive thoughts out there I am getting sick of having this on my plate!
I will blog about our Hawaii trip soon but we have been really busy recently and I know it will be a huge undertaking. We are getting HBO free which means, I have become addicted to True Blood and have no free time, this show is awesome. The lead character's name is Sookie Stackhouse!! REALLY????

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Holidays!

Carl and I had a whirlwind holiday season! We stayed home for Thanksgiving and had family down--Carol, Jeff and my Dad. It was smaller this year then in years past but was still fun. I had some friends from work over for dinner as well and some stopped by afterwards! We did fry the turkey this year but some parts came out a little pink, so I put them in the oven to cook them a little more and forgot about them for 2 hours or so, they were like leather and had to be tossed out. So, not too much leftover turkey. It was nice weather, so on Friday some people went downtown for lunch and my Dad and I went car shopping. I test drove a couple cars but nothing was the right fit. For fun, we test drove the Lexus 350, it was really nice but too expensive and a little too fancy. I can't imagine putting Cooper and Gibbs in the backseat of a car that nice!
My Dad left Saturday, I worked for 6 hours, then came home and we had lunch and watched UVA get killed by VT. The rest of the night we played pool and hung out. Then, everyone else left the next day and Carl and I put the house back in order!
A few days after that we left for our trip to Hawaii, I will post more on that!
Then back home for a week of work and then Christmas! We packed up the dogs and headed up to VA at 3am. We spent Christmas day with my parents and Carl drove up to NOVA that night.
The next day Mom and I had breakfast at the best bagel place ever (Bodo's, I got an everything bagel with bacon, egg and cheese) and Dad drove me to meet Carl. That night we went to a party at Ryan and Danielle's and got to see their new place, wish Ryan happy 30th and catch up with everyone in town.
Sunday, we had a birthday brunch with Carl's Mom and it was really tasty! It's a french place, Mon Ami Gabe and the bread was awesome! Then we headed to the Redskins game with Nate and Jess! The Redskins were playing Dallas, and lost. It was freezing cold! So we didn't stay the whole time but it was fun to finally check out our seats, since we have season tickets and only made it to the last game. I was playing my Dad in fantasy football for the championship and he had Miles Austin and Jason Whitten, so I had to watch the Skins and my fantasy team get beaten live, in the cold.
The next morning we met Grandma for breakfast and got on the road, traffic was awful, probably the worst it has ever been on one of our trips. We also met Beth and her Mom for lunch in Richmond and it took an extra 2 hours to get down there. We didn't get back to Charleston until late and crashed.
After that I had a couple days off to get life back in order. We almost bought a Honda pilot, but the deal fell through. We are still car shopping and I think it is pure torture!
I worked New Years Eve and New Years Day and didn't watch the ball drop, it was a rude awakening and I felt old.
We have had a couple more changes but I will have to post that later. Hope you had a great holiday! I am really excited for 2010!!

5K!!


I ran a 5K on THanksgiving with Carl and my mother in law, Carol. I was really nervous the morning of, I didn't think I would be able to finish the whole thing or would cramp up, my imagination was working overtime. But, I did really well!!! I ran the whole thing and didn't take any walk breaks. Carl was great and did the whole thing with me and never wanted to run ahead and leave me in the dust.
The race started downtown, you ran along Meeting Street and people were all out cheering you on as you passed restaurants and churches. Then, you ran along the battery, and passed the Ashley River and all the huge houses you think of in Charleston. The last leg was King Street where all the great shopping is, so I was checking out store windows and then the finish line. It was a great feeling to accomplish a goal and do really well. I ran the whole thing in 34 minutes but the first few minutes were slow, because the crowd was so big. I am def. going to do it next year and want to sign up for another 5K soon!
My Dad and brother in law Jeff were at the finish line, here is a pic. I am right behind Carl in the green hoodie, we are about to cross the finish line!