Ten Things I Am Thankful for This Year

1. My job

2. Living in Austin (in A HOUSE, people--a real house with a GARAGE!)

3. Moving out of San Francisco

4. My wonderful girl friends and all the amazing women in my life who inspire me every day

5. Finally getting a car! And driving places! No more walking up and down hills just to get groceries! No more choosing between milk or juice, apples or tomatoes because they get too heavy to carry!

6. Paying off my student loans-- FINALLLLLLAAAAAAYYYYYY

7. Seasons! No more 50-degree weather all year!

8. And of course, for my friends, family, bf, and puppies--the people who make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world

9. All the free food at Google (seriously, that is never gonna get old)

10. Being healthy, happy, and loved

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving this year. The plan was to head down to Houston to see the fam, but we ended up flaking out last minute. First, because we didn't have anyone to watch Mr. Quade. My aunt has two chihuahuas, one of which, Chloe, is half the size of a subway sandwich. Mr. Quade can't handle that kind of miniature canine; one careless step and Cloe would be toast. Second, we weren't looking forward to the drive and we were just so.stinkin.TIRED. The past month has been so hectic that it was really nice to have a long weekend to relax, sleep in, watch movies, sleep some more, etc. So self-indulgence won and we ended up staying in Austin.

The first activity of the day consisted of cleaning the living room and unpacking the rest of our boxes. After that, Jeff suggested going out on the street to play football--well, he basically wanted to teach me how to throw and catch the ball. Seriously, that thing can really hurt somebody. First of all, it's really hard to throw it without it getting all wobbly on its way to the other person. Second, even when you think you're throwing it in the right direction, it wobbles its way somewhere else, like it has a mind of its own. Finally, it's really hard to catch the damn thing while avoiding severe bodily harm. Every time Jeff tossed it my way, I could already imagine my bloody nose, broken fingers, and squshed boobs. Luckily, I managed to partake in our little recreational activity unscathed and with minimal whining (believe it or not).

Since we don't have any friends here yet (tear slides down cheek), we decided to have our own little Thanksgiving meal. I managed to find a turkey that only took two hours to cook, braised some green beans and brussels sprouts, and left Jeff in charge of making the mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing--the last, he declared, "tasted like pot" (for the record, we did not put marijuana in the stuffing). The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes to prepare, aside from waiting for the turkey to cook. While he watched hour after hour of mindnumbing football, I watched episode after episode of Gossip Girl online until my brain activity became severely compromised.

We decided not to get a pie for dessert, and I was fully planning on making baked caramel apples with cinnamon and serving it with vanilla ice cream, but… I didn't. And Jeff still won't let me live down the fact that I spent $4.50 on 2 apples--yea, yea, so sue me. We did open a bottle of apple cider, so… close enough.

It turned out quite nice, I must say. We lit the fireplace and some candles, set the table, and Jeff said grace before we enjoyed our little feast. Not as yummy as Mrs. Martens' Thanksgiving fare, and I definitely missed my Uncle Frank's stuffing (with smoked oysters, who would've thunk those things could make it taste way better?). But… at least we got a taste of Thanksgiving. Here is the Jeffers smiling before we ate (the veggies were still in the oven).

Sunday was my birthday and I forced Jeff to go furniture shopping with me. We had a wonderful dinner at my new favorite place in Austin, Mizu. De-li-cious.

New Job, New City, New Life - No Running!

Well, friends, it has certainly been a while! I haven't been running much, so there's not much to report on that, but life has been anything but slow lately!

New job, new city, new house, new car… By the end of the day, I am so exhausted, I usually pass out before 10pm (even on weekends, how pathetic is that?). But let’s start from the beginning…

Everything shifted into motion when I was offered a position at Google. As sad as I was to leave my previous position and my hilarious co-workers, I was very excited to get the job--and to get out of San Francisco!

I had to start pretty much right away, so I had a week—a WEEK!—to pack up, say goodbye, and drive down to Texas with Jeff and the two puppies.

Our adventure began in Palm Springs, where we stayed at a beautiful resort with plenty of room for the dogs to run around and plenty of ducks for them to chase.

Day Number 2 was spent in Phoenix, where we stayed at yet another awesome resort. We arrived in time for Jeff to meet up with his friend Nick and play a round of golf.


Meanwhile, I attempted to run a few lame miles on the treadmill while watching the NLCS playoffs. My knee wasn’t having it though. It felt strange, painful and numb all at once. Fellow runners, do not, I repeat: DO NOT get a cortisone shot if you can help it. If you must, please find a doctor who knows what she’s doing and who can explain all the risks and possible side effects, not someone who will say it’s a “coincidence” that the excruciating pain started AFTER you got the shot (come on, seriously?).

Anyhow, I digress… It was great to spend some time in Phoenix and meet Nick’s lovely wife and cute little girls. I wish we had stayed longer.

The next day, we headed to Roswell, NM. Oh yes, the UFO geek in me was pretty excited to be in that strange little town. Unfortunately, Jeff wasn’t feeling well, so we had to skip the UFO museum and drive straight to Austin the next morning.

We finally made it to our corporate apartment that night. It was in a huge apartment complex, but everything was set up to make us feel at home (thanks, Google!). The next day, our house hunt began. We met up with a fantastic real estate agent, Lesa Calhoun from Gimme Shelter, who showed us around and gave us great tips for settling down in her cute southern accent (I missed that!). After a house hunting marathon, we were starting to get discouraged… Jeff and I couldn’t seem to agree on a place. That is, until we came to the very last one: a beautiful two-story townhome in Northwest Hills, surrounded by trees and in a great neighborhood (the middle school down the street even has an outdoor track!). We had found our new home.


The next three weeks went by in a blur… A week of Google Orientation in Mountain View for me, a week of training in Boston for Jeff, shopping for a new car, going to a batting cage, playing disc golf, watching the World Series (still heartbroken over my Phillies and my newly adopted Rangers), taking the dogs to parks and creeks, more car shopping, visiting my family in Houston, moving into the new place and now, endless unpacking.

I must say though, I am incredibly happy to be here. I LOVE living in Austin. Absolutely love this city. I love the people, love the food, love the cost of living, love the trees surrounding our house, love seeing baby deer in our neighbors’ driveway in the morning, love the owl in her little owl house right in our front patio, love waking up to the sound of rustling leaves and wind chimes, love the smell of fresh earth when I walk outside our door, and love sharing that with a wonderful man and two great little puppers.

Ask this guy how happy he is to be here:

Oh, right, what about running? Believe it or not, running is not my main priority right now. I’m taking some time off to settle in and adapt to my new life. I know that eventually I’ll be itching to start training again (Austin Marathon, anyone?). But for now… I will cherish my lazy evenings and weekends, thank you very much.

PS: Check out the new whip!