secret date and other weekend happenings...

What!?!?! Has it already been 5 days. Good Lord!

My life has been insane! So I tried to leave Boston on Thursday night, but there was some "mechanical problem," so that didn't work out. Spent another night there on a Delta voucher and got up at 3:30 AM to catch the 4:00 AM shuttle to take me to my 6:10 flight. And yes - my luggage had already gone, so I was quite nasty by then. Flight gets delayed in Atlanta due to bad weather and 50 aircraft ahead of us in the line. Good times.

Finally arrive in Nashville after having to cancel four conference calls and two meetings. I have about 6 hours before I have to be at a rehearsal dinner for a friend's wedding. 1) Go to VS to get a strapless bra. Check. 2) Go home and take a shower. Check. 3) Go to the office and say hi to everybody and answer India questions. Check. Whew - almost fall asleep up there in the sanctuary.

Saturday was filled with wedding fun. It was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The groom cried and made all the brides maids (except me) cry. Party was swell because it had a chocolate fountain. Most adults were more excited about the Martini Slide. Todd and I danced. Rebecka danced more. She was *not* happy when it was time to go.

OK, OK, OK, I'm getting to the secret date. All I knew was we had to leave at 5, I needed to wear something nice (like my little black dress), and it involved dessert (that information I was not supposed to know, but it came out during the course of the day).

It was the best date ever... Appetizers, wine, dessert, and live music at the F Scott's Restaurant and Jazz Bar. Todd had done his research and provided the perfect evening. Everything from wine selection to etiquette to a nice gift waiting at home.

Man, I'm sooooo lucky.

steamed soy milk

I'm sitting in my hotel room, sipping steamed soymilk from the starbucks downstairs, and chatting with my husband.

It's cooooozy.

Btw - usability testing is so cool!

i'm loving this place...

It's so nice to be in a hotel where CNN is the default channel in the gym, the gym actually has more than one working treadmill, AND the treadmills are high-quality-just-the-same-as-at-the-Y.

Familiarity is golden.

i'm back in the country...

Yeh - just so ya'll know... :)

But, not in Nashville.

Nope - I'm at a fun-filled UIE conference in Cambridge, MA. This is the first conference I've attended as a professional. Makes me feel so grown up.

My hotel room rocks. Bed is the most comfortable ever. I need to find out where they buy their pillows. Probably have their own Marriott pillow factory...

Just got back from my first run since before India. I can not tell you how good I feel right now. It was tough and I only managed 50 minutes, but whew does it feel fantastic.

Todd has gotten into this insane running kick and is now running farther and faster than me. Scary. I need to get in good shape before the Habitrot on Thanksgiving morning so that he doesn't leave me in the dust. (I'm really proud of you, honey!)

OK - time to shower and find some food. It's cold outside, but I really don't feel like eating in the hotel restaurants. And I also have lots of work to do and don't really have time to spend an hour on dinner. Hmmm - the great dilemmas we face in life. I guess I'll figure it out.

I'm in India!!

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Originally uploaded by tabita.

Yep - I've been here for two weeks now - crazy! This has been my longest bout of no blogging ever (OK - since I started almost a year ago). Everything is sooo fast-paced here that it is hard to catch your breath.

I've had an absolutely amazing time though. People are so good here - so generous. Went on a fabulous weekend trip to see the "Real India" with my friend Prasad. It was amazing... Rice fields, coconut trees, suger cane fields, "authentic" toilets - yep. It also included a day at the beach at Vizag - I have some pics from there on Flickr. I'll put more pics up at some point.

Right now I'm suffering from my second installation of stomach upset, so I'm on a fun-filled diet of steamed rice and curd (at home, people end each meal with this combination). Suppsed to be good for digestion... We shall see. Doesn't seem right to go to India and not get sick.

In Hyderabad now, will be leaving for Bangalore tomorrow. Will be back in the country on Oct 7.

Ordered 4 pair of custom shoes yesterday - so friggin cool. Can't wait to see them.

aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

whirlwind trip to IKEA - fun, exhausting, expensive :)

put together furniture fun - and not so fun - we're still not done.

carried big sofa upstairs with Todd. amazing feat - sore next day - and day after that.

i leave for india on thursday!!!!!! how crazy is that? good lord - i have so much to do.

love, bubble baths, champagne, hugs, smiles, breathing exercises...

somehow it will all be OK.

Globalization

According to a white paper on globalization that I'm reading right now (OK, I was reading until I started writing this post), two of the eight "very best global sites" are Swedish. Ikea and Saab...

Sweden rocks!

Oh, and speaking of IKEA... I'm going there on Saturday. Sooooooo exciting!!!

15

That is how many minutes it takes to get to work during normal morning traffic from the new house. At 6 AM it is 11 minutes. Not bad, not bad. I have no patience for traffic. It is one of the most joy-sucking things in life. If the car is not moving, my breathing becomes shallow, and my brain keeps thinking about ways that I can get around the situation. Some times it works. That is a really happy thing. Conquering the traffic beast is fun.

15 is also the day of this month when I leave for India!!! Yep - I'm finally going and will be there for 3 weeks. I'm so freakin' excited! Started my Typhoid vaccine pills today. Lots of rules around that. Empty stomach, cold water, no food/hot drink/exercise for an hour, every other day, has to be refrigerated... I just know I'll screw something up. I just won't eat or drink while I'm there...

i feel like i'm in Clue...

Had a date with Reverend Green in the Reading Room with a Candlestick last night...

Yeh - it was romantic - flowing champange - foot massage - strawberries - red rose in new Mats Jonasson vase... Just for me.

So, we're moved it. The new house is fabulous. Official unpacking and settling starts today. Good thing we have a long weekend. Need to run. Way overdue.

Why am I still typing?

I need to go.

Now.

cool air

today was the first day of walking out the door and feeling cool, crisp air (of course, "cool" is all relative). it feels sooooo good!!!

i drove a truck for the first time in my life last night. must mean that we're getting close to our moving date. oh god - it's tomorrow! todd is already moving stuff over. he rocks. tomorrow i'm going to spend the day unpacking with the help of my good buddies emi and joanne. should be a fun time. other people may show up eventually. mostly to see the new place, i'm sure. we'll put them to work though. mwah hahaha...

new stuff...

new week, new day, new workout gloves (which i didn't have time to use this morning, because i was lazy and stayed in bed too long to do both cardio and weights), new house (soon enough), new ideas, new concepts, new thoughts, new dreams...

prayers for the people of Louisiana and surrounding areas.

btw, what do the people at the National Hurricane Center do during non-hurricane season?

a single rose...

I guess there are days that are better than others. I guess there are weeks that are better than others. This has been an "others" week. The focus has been gone, the joy has been gone, and life has been utter crap.

Things started getting better on Thursday evening and I was able to smile again. And work again. Friends are so important. A rose on my pillow. Hugs. Ice cream. Smiles. And even laughter. Things will be tough for a while, but I'm up for the challenge.

New house is exciting. People are so helpful. I feel bad - I've barely done any packing at all. But someone has to work, right? I'm taking a day off for the official moving day. That will just have to do. I'll be more inspired once we're moved in, I'm thinking. IKEA here we come.

where have all the flowers gone?

just felt like making that the title of a post...

Happy Birthday Todd!!!

I honor of my dear husband's birthday, I am taking the evening off! I know - it's a real token of my love... :)

Can't wait for yummy Mellow Mushroom Pizza.

nothing has changed...

Up until 1:00 AM or so on an OSD call. Back up at 6:00 AM to go to the gym.

Maybe one can survive on 5 hours of sleep per night. But I sure feel groggy.

Problem is my brain has to be in top condition every day all the time for high-level analysis and problem solving. In fact, it never stops thinking about these things...

It constantly churns and churns and wonders what is really the best solution to this problem? Cause there's always more than one... Always.

Haven't run in two days. Made me sound irritated with my best friend on the phone yesterday. I hate when that happens. So, now I'm going running. I like to be happy - and my friends like it when I'm happy. Apparently, I should smile all the time. I'll work on that...

dessert tip

Trying to eat healthy and still enjoy treats now and then (or daily - like me), then I have great news for you:

Soy Delicious Li'l Buddies

They are awesome! And come in several flavors. And are wonderfully non-dairy.

Happy weekend everyone!

roller coaster life...

yeh. bought a house and sold a house in a less than 24 hour time period.

life is good.

will have pics/link soon.

yay!!!

I finally filed our taxes. Ok - I haven't mailed them off yet, but still! This is soooo exciting.

My friends were right... Itemizing is better (at least a little).

Ok - gotta go help Todd get this house look pretty and sellable. We've found a totally awesome house - hopefully they will accept our offer and our house will sell quickly. :)

house hunting...

...and selling and cleaning and packing and I don't have time to write anything else...

...except that I went to Panera yesterday and my food was cold. Not a good start. But the soup (second attempt) was very good.

The family is back, which is very cool. :)

And my friend (who got sick in India) will be back on Monday (or so he says). It's all quite thrilling. Must sleep now.

post-run ramblings

FYI - When you live in Nashville, TN (Ok - Brentwood, TN to be specific), it makes a really big difference if you run at 5:30 AM as opposed to 8:00 AM (which is when I ran on Sunday). I made it about twice as far this morning - despite the complaints from my thigh muscles.

Lunges are brutal!!! I started them up last week after many months of no lunges. I eased into it, I stretched, yet I've been in pain since Wed (probably didn't help that I did a few sets on Saturday while still in pain from the last session...). Whew - but they're soooo good for you - so I'll endure the pain and hope for the best.

My friend Katie is back!!! It is such a treat. I saved her some Swedish chocolate. I've got to remember to give it to her today. :)

Btw, why is it "the best thing since sliced bread"? It should be "the best thing since oatmeal"!! Today I'm having it Scandinavian style with lingonberries. It's quite delightful. Too bad I'll be running out of this stuff in a month or so. It is available at Harris Teeter, but at a highly overpriced rate. Hmmm. I guess it would be worth it.

So - field trip today. Should be fun. I love North Carolina. I want to live there, in fact. Just wish I was here to greet my family as they return from their 3 month Europe stay. I guess I'm officially giving work highest priority... (I'm kidding, mom!!!!)

Well, the oatmeal is all gone (whaaaahhhh!) and I have a meeting that I mandated in exactly one hour, so it seems I should get going...

Until next time...