A little TX, a little GA, a lotta fun

If it seems like all that we ever post about are weekends, it's because for James and me that's when our life together takes place.  I know I've written about both the perks and the pains of business travel, but one thing we've learned is to take advantage of our days when we're both in the same place at the same time!

So, events this weekend centered around two states:  Texas and Georgia.  Friday night was a "Texas-themed" evening, starting off with some steak chili and Shiner Bocks at our house before a Pat Green concert at Buckhead Tavern.  Kellee, Michael and Ben joined us for the festivities.  The concert sounded great, although I was a little disappointed I didn't hear more of my favorite, old-school Pat Green "songs about Texas" type of music.  But, I guess he knew his audience (lots of Georgia folks wearing khaki pants with frat boy haircuts - not too many cowboy hats and wranglers.)   :)

"why don't you sing me one more song, about old San Antone"

Sunday, we explored some of the beauty that Georgia has to offer:  Kennesaw Mountain National Park and Battlefield.  I forget (but James reminds me) that so much of the South was at one point a battlefield for the Civil War.  Us Texans don't get as worked up about that 'war of Northern aggression' as they do down here, so it's always a good history lesson for me when we go exploring.

On our 10 mile hike today, James was my historian resident and my history lesson went a little something like this: He would call out "can you imagine being a soldier carrying his bags - barefoot,  thirsty and hungry - up this mountain...."  and then my mind starts to wander and I wonder why they are barefoot and why they don't just go AROUND the mountain like I'm planning to do on the hike back....and then wonder if I've hiked enough to break out the girl scout cookies I know James has stashed in the backpack...WHOOPS, pay attention, Jennie....and then I start listening again just in time to hear my Southern husband saying "it says there was a church here in 1864, but I guess the Yankees must have burned it down like they did everything else..."  Oh, Lordy.

I tease a bit, but all those things were actually said within the 4 hour period that we were hiking.

At one point we stopped for lunch, overlooking the city of Atlanta in the distance.  What a beautiful view!  The 65 degree temps made it such an enjoyable, beautiful day.  A few snapshots below.

It's hard to believe that you're actually very close to the city, when you're hiking up a small mountain. Look closely at the picture below, and you can see the downtown and midtown skylines.

With the warmer temps, there were a few flora that did not get the "this weather is deceiving, it's still winter!" memo. A poor little daffodil was sprouted along the trail, and then we came upon a magnolia tree with bright green leaves.

As you can see, this beautiful scenery is enough to inspire anyone to hike up and down all the trails.  Well, that and the promise of girl scout cookies hidden away at the bottom of the backpack...

Viva a Mexico!

I'm back in Mexico City this week, a place I've been visiting about twice a month since last Fall.  Before last year, I hadn't visited the city since 2001!  Quite a long time, and it feels like another person visited way back when.  It's a different lens between a young college kid looking for a salsa club and a (somewhat) older consultant here to talk about local HR operations.

Lots of people ask me about my safety here in Mexico, and by "lots" I mostly mean my my mother, mother-in-law, and husband.  I'm not trying to sound naive or unaware, but I really feel quite safe.  And I don't take any risks, of course - I'm not one for living on the edge anyway!  My exposure to Mexico City now is within the confines of a safe, wealthy barrio, staying at a JW Marriott, and traveling back and forth to the office with a driver  in a black Suburban with dark tinted windows. If someone wants to harm me, there is really not much opportunity.

It's such a shame the you can't really explore the country anymore, as Mexico City is only a snippet of all there is to offer.  Some of my FAVORITE memories from college center around one of my trips to Mexico:  the Copper Canyon valley, going from Chihuahua to the Pacific coast via train; crossing the border at Laredo and catching buses to San Miguel, Guanajuato and Guadalajara;  so many months learning Spanish (and how to salsa and shoot tequila) in Cuernavaca.  My hope is that this violence and chaos that disrupts so many beautiful areas of Mexico will soon be brought under control, so that one day my own kids can cross the border for a little adventure and other shenanigans that they don't write home to mama about.

Until then, I will continue to enjoy my time spent here in Mexico City, getting my fill of Mexican food, the Mexican culture, and the Mexican people - all things I really love! 

My view of the city this week - que linda!

Love, Love, Love

It's officially Valentine's Day, so what better thing to post about than love!  James and I were lucky to spend part of Heart Day together before flying out to our respective cities for the week, and my honey spoiled me with a sweet spa gift card that I can't wait to put to good use!

So many things about this weekend that I loved, but most importantly the people that we spent it with.  James' "sister" Kim and husband, Andy (because "sister" is much more accurate than the "cousin" that she is) came up from Tampa for a couple's weekend in Atlanta, and we had a BLAST!  Sure missed their sweet kiddos, but, then again, we definitely enjoyed some adult time, too.

What are these two getting in to?  TROUBLE.  :)

We could sum up the weekend with other things that we love:  good foods, good drinks, beautiful weather, live music, and a heckuva good time.  We spent Saturday in Decatur (which is increasingly becoming my favorite part of Atlanta), where we hit up Taqueria del Sol, the Dekalb Farmers Market, and quite a few little boutiques on the square.  Doesn't get much better.

We had a wonderful time, Kim and Andy!  Love you guys, and can't wait to see you again soon!

And to my Valentine:  I love you so, so, so much.  :)

I hope that one day, when we've grown old together, that we still act like this:

Friends and Feathers in Miami

Miami wasn't just about the ING race - it was also a time for us to hang out with some good friends, Jeremy and Jennifer King.  PLUS, we met some new feathered friends, too.  Lots of them, in fact.  And, you've been warned, I've included lots of pictures of them below.

We hit up Jungle Island in Miami, home to lots of jungle animals.  It's sort of like an upscale zoo, although we actually got to hold some animals (namely a skunk, rabbit and birds.)  Those sneaky monkeys (the zoo personnel, not ACTUAL monkeys, mind you) would not let you take pictures holding the animals with your own camera, so I have none of my fun/scared faces to show you.  (I think I asked them 3 times if they had removed the "stinker" from the skunk.  I'm a country girl, and my mama didn't raise me to go near no skunk, much less hold one!  They are surprisingly soft.)  

Here a few fun shots from our animal adventure.  I wasn't able to take the Nikon, so I had to show my poor, neglected Canon point-n-shoot some love.

We got to feed some lovely Macaws, some nearly 60 years old.

According to James, this is what I look like when I fall asleep in the car...which is quite often.  (Note to self:  try not to look like THAT anymore when napping in the car.)

Some different mammals, just chillaxin'...

Just some adults, horsing around in the kiddie area.  We were the only adults there without children of our own, so we had to randomly call out for imaginary kids to pretend like we had a few but that those little boogers had just run off temporarily.

Okay boys and girls, here's a little pop quiz to see if you remember anything from biology, zoology, or wherever the heck we were supposed to learn this stuff.  What do you get when you cross a Tiger and a Lion?

A Liger!!  And, he.is.enormous.  

Okay, here's your next one.  He's a distant cousin of both the pterodactyl (yes, as in the dinosaur) and the ostrich, and he lives in Australia.  Give up?

It's a Cassowary!  Weirdest creature I have ever seen.  This is what I read about them, post adventure: Naturally, Cassowaries are extremely aggressive and dangerous birds. The Guinness Book of World Records lists them as the world’s most dangerous bird, as they have been known to viciously attack humans who intrude upon their territory.  Their middle toes have a long sharp claw with which they can attack and instantly disembowel an enemy.     How warm-and-fuzzy do I feel now, seeing I was in the front row of the bird show while Mama Cass here was less than 4 feet away!?

Most birds mate for life, so we saw lots of "love birds"...   :)

While on the subject of "love birds", I decided after this trip that I want a bird.  They're such fascinating creatures.  I'm not sure how Carmen and Lupe would react, but my gut feeling says they would enjoy one, too!  I'm sure they would thank their Mama in between bites of features.  

Such a fun way to spend the afternoon in Miami.  Kept us entertained for hours (and our minds off of the pending race the next day.)

Speaking of race, one of the best parts of completing a 13.1 mile run is getting to eat what you want, right??  The day after the race, James and I hit up a little cafe in downtown Miami for a Cuban breakfast.

A few things that I never eat, but boy did they taste good:  white bread toast with a ton of melted butter, and a cafe au lait with real sugar.  (I didn't even ask her if it was skim - just drank ever last drop.)

A fabulous way to end a fantabulous weekend.  

Miami ING Half Marathon - We did it!

So, last Thursday in New Jersey I woke up to this:

And by Friday, I was in Miami enjoying this:

Such a warm and welcome change!  (Confession, I did not get in this pool with the other guests - this Texan does not consider 75 degrees as "pool weather", even if it's a heated one!)  But, the weather was definitely not the highlight of the weekend.  We were in Miami for the ING Half Marathon, and it went GREAT.

I remember when James told me he would run the half with me in January:  it was around September, and James was still professing that he hated running.  But, he was up to about 2 miles so I sent him a beginner's training plan. (Okay, maybe I encouraged a liiiiiittle more than that: I also got him a new iPod and the Nike+ iPod adapter for his birthday, James' mom and aunt gave him some new Nike Frees, and I promised him he could eat whatever he wanted without my persistent judgement the whole race weekend.  I wasn't about to let this one slip by!)  Our friends Jeremy and Jennifer King also signed up, and we were well on our way to  the race.

All the J's

Needless to say, I am so proud of him for running 13.1 miles on Sunday!  And, running with a great pace!  Such an awesome first half.

This was my second half, and I had two goals:  1) improve my time, and 2) try to get that time to under 2 hours.  The second was pretty optimistic, because I'm a fairly slow and steady 6mph runner.  However, when I crossed that finish line, I was at 1:59:43.  Praise the heavens for that 17 seconds!

Pre-Race: James fears he's facing imminent death

Post-Race:  he's still alive and thriving!

The race was just part of a great weekend, but I'll save that for the next blog post.  Until then, some ING pictures for us to remember this by...

That beautiful finish line

Way to go, Jen!