Thursday, July 29, 2010
Baby Jordan
Pamela was checking out her favorite blog, Dooce, the other day and on it there was a picture of her dog when it was just a puppy. Pamela loved the picture so much that I thought I would put up some pictures of Jordan from back when she was a baby puppy. Here are a couple of them, plus I put a few more on Jordan's page.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Vacations: The Final Chapter
Trip #3: Back to Santa Barbara for some Team fun!
This past week, I went back out to Santa Barbara for a planning meeting for work. We stayed at this cute historic hotel in the heart of downtown called the Upham. So there is the main hotel and then there is an 8-bedroom house converted into a Bed & Breakfast right across the street. Our team was staying in the B&B so we would have meeting space and also so we could all hang out more and get to know each other. Gross side story now:
We got to the hotel and the innkeeper said that a few of the rooms had a "fly issue" and that those people would have to wait a couple of hours to check in while the problem was being fixed. Of course, my room was one of the infested ones. Around 1:30, she announces that my room is good to go and I head up there to find 4 or 5 dead/struggling flies on my bathroom and bedroom floor. I feel a little sick about it, but I pick them up with a tissue and flush them. Then I head back downstairs for meetings. 4 hours later, it was time to go back upstairs to get ready for dinner. Oh the horror! I walk in and see more than 20 flies scattered around the room - dead or dying on their backs. I grabbed my stuff and booked it over to Kristina's room before the carnage made me throw up. Needless to say, I ended up staying in the main hotel property across the street. Because I doubt General Mills wanted to pay for my therapy bills when I started having nightmares about flies touching me. On to the real story now...
Like most General Mills trips, this one was filled with great food and fun times. We ate at this cute restaurant called Downey's, where I had the most amazing sea bass of my life! And the desserts here were killer too - nobody could stop talking about the sorbet and the homemade peach ice cream. The next day, we went on a vineyard tour of Santa Barbara where we learned how wine is grown, processed and bottled. It was very interesting and I learned a ton about wine that I never knew before. It was also great to learn the correct pronunciations for different wines and how to pair it with foods - something that comes in handy in the world of business and sales. That night we had an awesome time bonding as a team over pizza and Taboo. For what I lack in sports skills, I make up for in board games and trivia knowledge, so I pretty much rocked that game :)
The next morning, I earned my fitness points for the day by attending an impromptu boot camp put on by my co-worker's husband. Holy moly was it intense! My abs and legs still hurt 2 days later. And a word to the wise: apparently if you eat before a hard workout, your body doesn't have time to focus on digestion so your stomach will try to send that banana back up the way it came... Yikes. Before we headed back to Phoenix, we made a stop at CrushCakes - a famous cupcake shop featured on Cupcake Wars. Strawberry Lemonade cupcake = very tasty. Vanilla Bean cupcake = perfection. Another great trip, but now I am glad to just be home with Matt for a few weeks.
CrushCakes... as close to heaven as Santa Barbara can get!
My emu call was apparently spot-on, since I got these guys to come right over...
One of the many gorgeous vineyards we toured
This past week, I went back out to Santa Barbara for a planning meeting for work. We stayed at this cute historic hotel in the heart of downtown called the Upham. So there is the main hotel and then there is an 8-bedroom house converted into a Bed & Breakfast right across the street. Our team was staying in the B&B so we would have meeting space and also so we could all hang out more and get to know each other. Gross side story now:
We got to the hotel and the innkeeper said that a few of the rooms had a "fly issue" and that those people would have to wait a couple of hours to check in while the problem was being fixed. Of course, my room was one of the infested ones. Around 1:30, she announces that my room is good to go and I head up there to find 4 or 5 dead/struggling flies on my bathroom and bedroom floor. I feel a little sick about it, but I pick them up with a tissue and flush them. Then I head back downstairs for meetings. 4 hours later, it was time to go back upstairs to get ready for dinner. Oh the horror! I walk in and see more than 20 flies scattered around the room - dead or dying on their backs. I grabbed my stuff and booked it over to Kristina's room before the carnage made me throw up. Needless to say, I ended up staying in the main hotel property across the street. Because I doubt General Mills wanted to pay for my therapy bills when I started having nightmares about flies touching me. On to the real story now...
Like most General Mills trips, this one was filled with great food and fun times. We ate at this cute restaurant called Downey's, where I had the most amazing sea bass of my life! And the desserts here were killer too - nobody could stop talking about the sorbet and the homemade peach ice cream. The next day, we went on a vineyard tour of Santa Barbara where we learned how wine is grown, processed and bottled. It was very interesting and I learned a ton about wine that I never knew before. It was also great to learn the correct pronunciations for different wines and how to pair it with foods - something that comes in handy in the world of business and sales. That night we had an awesome time bonding as a team over pizza and Taboo. For what I lack in sports skills, I make up for in board games and trivia knowledge, so I pretty much rocked that game :)
The next morning, I earned my fitness points for the day by attending an impromptu boot camp put on by my co-worker's husband. Holy moly was it intense! My abs and legs still hurt 2 days later. And a word to the wise: apparently if you eat before a hard workout, your body doesn't have time to focus on digestion so your stomach will try to send that banana back up the way it came... Yikes. Before we headed back to Phoenix, we made a stop at CrushCakes - a famous cupcake shop featured on Cupcake Wars. Strawberry Lemonade cupcake = very tasty. Vanilla Bean cupcake = perfection. Another great trip, but now I am glad to just be home with Matt for a few weeks.
CrushCakes... as close to heaven as Santa Barbara can get!
My emu call was apparently spot-on, since I got these guys to come right over...
One of the many gorgeous vineyards we toured
Vacations Part 2
Trip #2: Visiting my baby in Lompoc!
The day after I got home from Chicago I unpacked, repacked and headed off to Lompoc, CA to see Matt! It had been 2 weeks since I had seen him last, which might as well have been an eternity! So it felt awesome when I stepped off of that plane into 70-degree weather and (more importantly) into Matt's arms! Matt's co-worker Jake was out in Lompoc too, so his wife Nicole and I made the trek out there together. Hooray for awesome new friends! We all ate at a yummy steakhouse off the marina in Santa Barbara, and then made the 45 minute drive to the boys' hotel in Lompoc. Initially, we thought that Matt would have to work the entire weekend, but at the last minute their launch was delayed and he was free to hang out with me for 3 days! We got in some good beach time this trip - going to Pismo Beach one day and Santa Barbara Beach another. Jake bought a kite that we tried flying, but there was just no wind during this trip. It was still nice to be smelling the ocean air and out of the heat. We also made a visit to San Luis Obispo to do some window shopping and sightseeing. What a cute little area!
Then, on the 4th of July, we decided to all spend the day in Santa Barbara and top it off with the downtown fireworks show. This day could be known as The Day of Eating 5,000 Calories Apiece :) There was just SO much good food to be had there! We split a mixed cheese plate from some fancy cheese shop, and then went to the adorable Anderson's Bakery where someone decided we could easily split 4 giant desserts. Definitely worth the calories there, though! We took a break from eating to walk along the beach and look at the craft show that was going on. Then it was back to dinner at Aldo's Italian food. WOW!! This is some of the best Italian I have ever eaten - cheese and bacon-stuffed chicken with a sauce that really made the meal. And the best crabcakes hands down! That night, we watched the fireworks over the Santa Barbara pier and it was a gorgeous sight. Not only was the weather nice and cool (unlike every other 4th I spent in Phoenix), but the fireworks shining through the palm trees just made for a nice effect.
The biggest treat of all was that Monday afternoon I got to bring Matt home with me!! Before we left for the airport, we stopped in a little Dutch town called Solvang to walk around and sightsee. The buildings were so cute and Matt introduced me to these donut-like round pancakes called Aebleskivers - mmm! Then it was home again for us. It has been so nice to have Matt back here with me, and I'm sure he is glad to not be living out of a hotel!
Fun Friends, Fun Times
Beach Bums
Fine Dining - Aldo's, Anderson's & Arnie's
Santa Barbara is a weird hippie town...
Matt's gum wall contribution
Reunited! (And check out that beard!)
California-style fireworks
The day after I got home from Chicago I unpacked, repacked and headed off to Lompoc, CA to see Matt! It had been 2 weeks since I had seen him last, which might as well have been an eternity! So it felt awesome when I stepped off of that plane into 70-degree weather and (more importantly) into Matt's arms! Matt's co-worker Jake was out in Lompoc too, so his wife Nicole and I made the trek out there together. Hooray for awesome new friends! We all ate at a yummy steakhouse off the marina in Santa Barbara, and then made the 45 minute drive to the boys' hotel in Lompoc. Initially, we thought that Matt would have to work the entire weekend, but at the last minute their launch was delayed and he was free to hang out with me for 3 days! We got in some good beach time this trip - going to Pismo Beach one day and Santa Barbara Beach another. Jake bought a kite that we tried flying, but there was just no wind during this trip. It was still nice to be smelling the ocean air and out of the heat. We also made a visit to San Luis Obispo to do some window shopping and sightseeing. What a cute little area!
Then, on the 4th of July, we decided to all spend the day in Santa Barbara and top it off with the downtown fireworks show. This day could be known as The Day of Eating 5,000 Calories Apiece :) There was just SO much good food to be had there! We split a mixed cheese plate from some fancy cheese shop, and then went to the adorable Anderson's Bakery where someone decided we could easily split 4 giant desserts. Definitely worth the calories there, though! We took a break from eating to walk along the beach and look at the craft show that was going on. Then it was back to dinner at Aldo's Italian food. WOW!! This is some of the best Italian I have ever eaten - cheese and bacon-stuffed chicken with a sauce that really made the meal. And the best crabcakes hands down! That night, we watched the fireworks over the Santa Barbara pier and it was a gorgeous sight. Not only was the weather nice and cool (unlike every other 4th I spent in Phoenix), but the fireworks shining through the palm trees just made for a nice effect.
The biggest treat of all was that Monday afternoon I got to bring Matt home with me!! Before we left for the airport, we stopped in a little Dutch town called Solvang to walk around and sightsee. The buildings were so cute and Matt introduced me to these donut-like round pancakes called Aebleskivers - mmm! Then it was home again for us. It has been so nice to have Matt back here with me, and I'm sure he is glad to not be living out of a hotel!
Fun Friends, Fun Times
Beach Bums
Fine Dining - Aldo's, Anderson's & Arnie's
Santa Barbara is a weird hippie town...
Matt's gum wall contribution
Reunited! (And check out that beard!)
California-style fireworks
Vacations Like Whoa
It has been a crazy last couple of weeks of travel here at our house. Matt was in Lompoc for a good solid month, and I made it out to visit him between my work trips. The trips were a lot of fun and I got to do and see a lot of great things over the course of 2 weeks. Here's the highlight reel:
Trip 1: Fiscal Year End Celebration in Chicago!
I had never been to Chicago before and I liken trips with General Mills to trips with Mom & Dad: you stay cooler places and do better things because they are older and have more money than you do :) I feel so lucky to work for a company that rewards strong performance and treats its employees well. And GMI wins too, since their kindness just makes me want to work harder for them! So we arrived at our hotel Monday morning - Trump Towers! It was gorgeous - a view of the lake from our window and detailed rooms like no other. There was even a TV built in to our bathroom mirror! We had some time for work and some time for play while we were out here. This included a rooftop viewing of the Cubs game Monday night, a trip to the spa for an awesome mani/pedi on Tuesday, and some fun community service Wednesday before we had to head back home.
Gino's famous Pizza - very cool decor! We even wrote our names on the wall here!
Enjoying the game with my favorite work ladies!
Awesome views!
Trip 1: Fiscal Year End Celebration in Chicago!
I had never been to Chicago before and I liken trips with General Mills to trips with Mom & Dad: you stay cooler places and do better things because they are older and have more money than you do :) I feel so lucky to work for a company that rewards strong performance and treats its employees well. And GMI wins too, since their kindness just makes me want to work harder for them! So we arrived at our hotel Monday morning - Trump Towers! It was gorgeous - a view of the lake from our window and detailed rooms like no other. There was even a TV built in to our bathroom mirror! We had some time for work and some time for play while we were out here. This included a rooftop viewing of the Cubs game Monday night, a trip to the spa for an awesome mani/pedi on Tuesday, and some fun community service Wednesday before we had to head back home.
Gino's famous Pizza - very cool decor! We even wrote our names on the wall here!
Enjoying the game with my favorite work ladies!
Awesome views!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Launch Beard Time Lapse
While I was out in California growing my launch beard I thought it would be fun to take a picture of it every day so that I could make a time lapse video afterward. This afternoon I took a little bit of time and played around with Windows Movie Maker and below is the result. There were only 15 days worth of pictures so I went through twice, the second time with fading transitions in between the pictures. Poor Pamela is married to a huge nerd but it's okay, she makes a guest appearance on day 15 and she looks pretty happy to see me.
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