Bad Blogger...

I know, I've been such a bad blogger!  I tease about the new car, and then fail to write another post for almost 2 weeks.  I have a great birthday week, but lack any pictures on the blog to prove it.  AND, as one of my dear followers pointed out, I completed a previous post full of inaccuracies!  A few weeks ago when I posted about all the things I loved in Canada, I incorrectly stated that we, in the States, did not have the luxury of cheese curds.  Well, friends, WE DO, in fact, produce cheese curds in the US!!  Thank you to the Freys for bringing this to light for me.  I will certainly be making a trip up north to taste some US-produced curds.  :)

Well, this bad blogger has to sign off without much to post, because we are 30 minutes away from leaving for HAWAII!  I cannot wait to dip my toes in the surf and slather myself with SPF70 while I sit under an umbrella (hopefully drinking something with a little umbrella in it....)

Stay with me...I promise there is more to come on the blog!

New Wheels

More to come later, because I have to properly chronicle all the years and events leading up to something very exciting:  my first new car!!

Oh, Canada

Recently, I've started to split my time between our neighbors to the North and South.  I'm like a living, breathing NAFTA.  Although these two neighbors couldn't be more different, the French-speaking Quebecians and Spanish-speaking "Chilangos" (term of endearment for those from Mexico City) are both a pleasure to work with.

I already posted an ode to Mexico on the blog, but I haven't really mentioned all the wonderful things I've experienced in Canada.   So, briefly below, I've noted a few of my favorite things:

1) Cheese Curds - Why the heck don't we have these in the States?  They're tasty, they're squeaky, and they are so readily available here (even in the gas stations.)  Vermont and Wisconsin - get on the ball and start producing us some curds!

Love those curds!

 2) Just all Food, in General - I called out the cheese curds, but let's face it...I love all the food here.  Right now, I'm ordering some room service, and even the room service menu exudes nothing but pure French goodness.  Some of the favorite things I've put in my mouth here:  veal cheeks (not sure which end these cheeks came from, but I don't care); croque-madame (ham and gruyere on a fresh country bread, served with a fried egg on top);  various tartares from things I didn't even know you could tartare; and a series of other things that I could not pronounce or identify (all of them delicious).  People wonder why I run so much, and obviously one legitimate reason is to counter the saturated fat I consume each trip to Canada.

Croque Madame

3) Overly Suspicious Border Agents - God bless 'em, but you just can't come up with a good enough reason for entering the country that can withstand their hole poking.  Most borders I cross are quite satisfied with "here for business" or "meeting a client", but - to the Canadian Immigration Service - that answer is an open invitation for them to demand your full itinerary.  And, they don't fall for that consultant talk, which usually leaves agents so bored out of their mind that they're practically frantic to stamp that passport and pass you forward.  Personally, I have never been detained (yet); but many colleagues have not been so fortunate.

4) The Snow - okay, anyone who knows me at all knows that this is NOT my favorite part of all this country has to offer.  Because I like to stay positive, I decided not to add another list entitled "things that make me want to run back to my own border..." for this item.  However, it's so flippin' cold here sometimes that I can barely breath.  I've yet to see the city without 3 feet of white stuff, but (staying positive here) I believe their summer - which takes place for 2 weeks in July - is supposed to be GORGEOUS!

Purple means snow, Yellow means LOTS of snow

So, there ya go - a few reasons (if you weren't aware already) that you should love our northern neighbors.  And, the people are lovely, too.  Now, I know that I'm technically spending all my time in Quebec, which some argue is very different from general Canada.  Even some Quebecians themselves struggle with their identity as a Canadian and have wanted to succeed.  As a Texan, I can, of course, relate.  But, I'm not one to get all up in their business and question matters of nationality, so I'm just going to generalize these things above as "Canadian" and call it a day.

 

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

This weekend I was in Oklahoma City for one very special event:  the baby shower for Audra, one of my best friends in the whole world.  This sweet gal means very much to me, so to be there with her as we celebrated this new baby girl that she and Dustin are bringing into the world...makes me tear up just thinking about it.  Maybe all the babies and pregnant women impacted my hormones, but I was on the verge of (happy) tears all weekend!

Unfortunately, I just got one picture beautiful Audra, but I can't wait for Baby Girl to get here so we can head back to the midwest and meet her (and take LOTS of pics).

Can I also just say that baby girl showers are SO MUCH FUN.  There are so many cute bows and dresses and Mary Jane shoes that are no more than 2 inches long...  Love it.

God bless you, Audra, through these last few weeks of your pregnancy, and may He bring you a quick, safe birth of this most special little one.

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: