Revisiting my August goals

Hey friends-- Back from the wedding, which was fabulous. Pictures to come tomorrow. But, in the spirit of accountability, I'm back to revisit my August goals. If you'll recall:

• Get a job by September 1st. (Dramatically wiping sweat off my brow.) Technically I got two jobs (waitressing and my "real" job, which commences next Tuesday), so this most important goal was a smashing success.
• Work out 5 times a week. I'm going to consider this one accomplished. Technically, I did not work out 5 times per week, but I did work out 17 times in the 31 days of August. Moreover, 2 of those workouts were death marches runs around Town Lake in 95 degree heat that took me 1 hour and 25 minutes and then 1 hour and 20 minutes respectively, so I feel like those should each count for two workouts. And, lest you think I am trying to fudge an "accomplished goal" here, I also waitressed on 8 of those days, which were all 5 hour shifts during which I sat down for approximately 22 minutes cumulatively. So while I didn't follow the rules to the letter, I feel pretty good about my physical activity in August.
• Read 2 novels. I sort of accomplished this one, but I am not going to lobby for it as hard as I did on the work outs above. I finished the second half of Rhett Butler's People, which I had started in July. It tells the story of Gone With the Wind through Rhett's eyes, and also delves into his (imagined) childhood. Two thumbs up. Then I read Chasing Harry Winston by the author of The Devil Wears Prada (yes, it's as vapid as it sounds, but also highly entertaining), and now I'm halfway through Memoirs of a Geisha, which is pretty fascinating, and I think I'll probably finish it in the next week.
• Try 3 new recipes. Check! I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, roasted salmon with herb butter, and basil shrimp risotto with spinach. I'll be honest and say the first two were not very challenging since they basically entailed adding oatmeal to my standard chocolate chip recipe and then mixing chopped up herbs into butter and putting it on top of salmon which was cooked the way I usually cook it anyway (roasting). The risotto was definitely new and tasty though, and I'm sure I can up the ante on my cooking skillz once the weather cools off a little.
• Get every room in our apartment fully unpacked, organized, and set up. Yeah, not even remotely close. I won't go into details, but let's just say that I still have like 3 boxes of clothes that I haven't even attempted to hang up sitting on the floor of my room. Maybe I'll get around to this once I've lived here for 2 months... ; )

Contemplating new goals for September, so stay tuned!

Another year older...

Another year wiser! Or, that's what I like to tell myself. It just sounds better than, "another year older, and more crows feet to show for it." ; ) My birthday yesterday was lovely. I got done with my waitressing gig early and they gave me a nice piece of chocolate cake as a goodbye/birthday gift. Then I went to Polish and got the best manicure and pedicure ever. Seriously, I highly recommend that anyone in the Austin area checks this place out. It's in a cute little house up off 38th and Lamar, and it's super clean with comfy chairs and nice decor. They don't use those big spa chairs with the built whirlpools, so it seems a lot more sanitary. And (this might be the best part), they give you a little plate of goodies (muffin, crispy cinnamon twists, chocolates) and wine for free! And, the service is excellent. The massages are long and they include a parafin dip as part of the regular manicure. To top it all off, it's pretty reasonable too... $45 for the mani/pedi combined. I will definitely be going back!

Afterward, I headed home and got prettied up for dinner. J gave me a lovely pair of fall flats from Nordstrom that I've been coveting, and then we headed out to Olivia. I had never heard of it, but apparently it's brand new and it got rated as one the top 10 best new restaurants in the whole country by Bon Appetit. Can't argue with that. The food was delish. We each had a prix fixe menu, and I chose lobster bisque, the Texas peach and arugula salad with goat cheese and bacon, lamb t-bones on lemon risotto with charred tomatoes, and one of the best molten chocolate cakes I've ever had. It was served with cinnamon ice cream, on a little bit of berry puree, and with some chocolate toffee shards. Seriously, berries, toffee, and deep dark chocolate all in one dessert? It doesn't get any better. I essentially had to roll myself home, but it was worth it. That's what those five workouts a week are for!

Now I'm motivating to get up off the couch and get us all packed and ready to head back to Seattle. Have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back on Monday!

Tuesday Tidbits

Tuesday afternoon and lots of random stuff going through my brain... First of all, giving notice at the restaurant went about as well as it could have and they were very gracious about it. The manager even offered me an opportunity to take on some dinner shifts at the restaurant while at my new job, but I think I need to see how my "real" job goes before I even consider that. If it's like most agencies I've worked at, there is no set or predictable start or end time each day. You roll in anywhere from 7:30 to 9:30am depending on what the day has in store for you, and you work until you're done, or are at least done with that day's pressing deadlines. Occasionally that's 5pm, but more often than not it's 6, 6:30, or later. So adding a dinner shift on top would be pretty difficult to juggle. But keeping my options open is never a bad thing...

We're headed back to Seattle on Thursday for J's sister's wedding, which I am super excited about. Not only do we get to celebrate with the lovely Kristin and her dashing fiance, Dan, as well as spend time with J's parents and the rest of the S clan, but my parents will also be attending, so I'm very excited to see them too. I'm also getting together with my Seattle ladies on Thursday night at our favorite wine bar that we used to frequent all the time back in our wild and crazy ("wild and crazy" being two glasses of syrah on a school night) single days. Not everyone is paired up now, but somehow it seems like each year we all take on more and more responsibilities that make those fancy free weeknight evenings of our early to mid-20s exceedingly rare. So this will be a fun blast from the past.

This evening I'm headed out to see "Julie and Julia" with some of the other wives / fiances / girlfriends of students in J's program. I'm starting to get to know a few of them a bit better, which is nice. It's amazing how long it really takes to build real friendships though... the kind where you can randomly call up your pal on a Sunday morning and meet for coffee, un-showered and/or in your workout clothes, and just have a blast talking about everything from US Weekly's latest cover story to intimate details about your family or relationship. Outside of college, where the hyper speed bonding of freshman year enables everyone to find their BFF before the end of orientation week, I think it takes 1-2 years to develop that kind of friendship with someone. I'm grateful to be getting to know smart, funny, intelligent women here, but it also makes me miss my best friends from way back who are scattered all across the U.S., from Seattle to Miami, and even in Africa (shout out to you, Diana!)

Lastly, but definitely not least, tomorrow is my birthday! Weeeeeeeeeee!! After working my final shift at the restaurant tomorrow, I've got a taxing schedule of a mani/pedi at a swanky Austin nail establishment, Polish, followed by appetizers and perhaps some presents at home, followed by dinner with J at a location to be revealed. I love my birthday!

When it rains, it pours!

Actually, in Seattle, not so much... that's why we have so many names for rain: drizzle, mist, shower, sprinkle, etc. They all convey something less than full fledged RAIN, and full fledged rain is actually pretty rare in the great NW. But in Austin... it pours! And since we're still in crazy drought mode (officially it's stage 2, which means that restaurants can no longer serve water unless a patron specifically asks for it), you can probably guess that I'm not talking about real precipitation. Oh no, my friends. When it rains, it pours... on the job front! (Yes, that was possibly the longest segueway ever. Whatever. Stick with me here.)


Earlier this week I mentioned that I just got a job serving at an upscale restaurant. I'm a week into the position and I'm enjoying it more than I expected-- the staff is really nice, the patrons are (mostly) nice, and it's generally a very pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. But two days ago, I recieved a call from the marketing agency I'd had several interviews with, and they offered me a fantastic position. Clearly, I need to do what's best for my family, and since I'm the sole breadwinner right now, passing up a good job in marketing in order to wait tables several times a week is not exactly in the cards. So today I happily accepted the offer, just in time to celebrate over the weekend! Now I just have to figure out a way to tell the restaurant that I'm quitting after not much more than a week of work... Yikes. I guess that's not a terrible problem to have, but I'm still nervous. I'm a people-pleaser at heart, so I hate disappointing people. Wish me luck on Monday morning when I have to break the news. Until then, it's the weekend, and I am off to soak up some rays at the pool!

Weekend update x 2

Hi friends (all 4 of you that read this!)-- Sorry for the absence as of late. It's been a busy, but fun, past week and a half. As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the weekend before last in LA visiting my friend Laurie and meeting her baby daughter. Our friend Kristin flew down from San Francisco to join us, so it was a bona fide ladies' weekend. We kept it low key, but enjoyed perusing the Santa Monica farmer's market and then cooking an Italian feast with our purchases, as well as a bike ride and lunch along the beach, a hike in the canyons behind Laurie's house, and some lunch and window shopping in Brentwood. Spending time with Laurie and Kristin was fantastic, and the 85 degree weather was also a highlight-- a heavenly escape from Austin for a few days!

Here I am with the baby... I love her gorgeous, big blue eyes! And, below, is a pic of Laurie and me in front of the pier on Manhattan Beach. Ah, I miss the Pacific out here in landlocked Texas!

When I got back from LA, I went into job search overdrive and my efforts paid off. I've started serving at an upscale restaurant with a really great wine list (read: good tips), and I've had a few interviews for some marketing positions as well. Keeping my fingers crossed that a marketing job pans out, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying getting out of the house a few times a week to mingle and interact with people at the restaurant.

This past weekend was our first "normal" Austin weekend-- by normal, I mean spend some time at home, go out with friends, do some cleaning and errands... you know, the usual. We spent most of Saturday out looking at desks so we can officially transform our extra bedroom into an office for J (and get all his print outs, binders, and junk off the kitchen table!) That evening, we attended a big Indian dinner at Austin's best Indian restaurant (or so I'm told), the Clay Pit. A bunch of his classmates and significant others attended, so it was grea to get out and meet more people. And the food was delish. Indian is one of my favorites. Sunday was spent doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, and running more errands. And I have to say, I enjoyed it! It's nice to finally be getting into a routine here. Now that we're getting more and more settled, I should be posting more frequently.

Getting settled and girlfriends...

This week I've been busy with a bunch of settling in activities. I got my car registered, have done some more unpacking and organizing, have continued to apply for jobs, and attended an orientation at the university for spouses and significant others of students in the MBA program. I met a few really cool women there (all wives of students), and today we had lunch at a cute little central Austin cafe. It's great to meet some people who are also new to town, know no one, and are trying to get this whole business school spouse thing figured out. I also had the pleasure of meeting Amelia in person and getting to know her over a glass of wine poolside at the Hotel San Jose. She was so gracious and welcoming, and just as energetic and fun as she seems on her blog. It was about a million degrees outside, and I think we both sweat through our shirts (or at least I did... classy... and just the kind of first impression every girl hopes to make), but I had a great time hearing all about Austin from a local. I've only been blogging for a couple months, but it's amazing to know that there is this whole community of cool women out there, and even more amazing when you realize they're all real people that you could potentially meet and befriend in real life.

This weekend, I'm heading out to LA to visit one of my best friends, Laurie, and meet her baby daughter, Camille, for the first time. Laurie and I met at our very first job right out of college when we both moved to San Francisco, and were assigned to work on the same team. We only worked together for about a year and a half, but have stayed in close contact all these years through numerous life adventures-- moving to Paris (me), law school (her), both of our weddings where we each served as bridesmaids, and now parenthood (her... and hopefully eventually me.) Our close friend, Kristin (who also worked at our first job with us), is also making the trip down to LA from San Francisco, so I'm looking forward to a bona fide girls weekend. With J gone most nights this week due to orientation activities, it will be so nice to be around people all weekend-- especially girlfriends that I've known for years and can't wait to catch up with.

August goals

So here we are in the eight month of the year... the eighth! Is that crazy or what?! It's true what they say about time seeming to speed up each year. Well, now that I find myself semi-settled into my new apartment here in Austin and living a life of leisure (that's a glamorous way of saying that I'm unemployed and the hubster is now in school full-time, so I have some time on my hands...) I decided that I should create some goals for myself this month. Curiously, unemployment doesn't seem to have any effect on my type A-ness. Anyhoo, my goals for August are as follows:

• Get a job by September 1st... could be full-time, awesome position in my desired field or part-time gig to get me out of the house while I continue to look for a professional job.
• Work out 5 times a week. Yes, that may sound kind of excessive, but, again... no job + no friends = no excuse not to look smashing in a two-piece.
• Read 2 novels. Just because I've been on the wagon TV-wise for the past 3 weeks, and the cable guy just finished hooking us up so that I no longer have to resort to extreme cardio workouts in the gym in order to catch my favorite shows, does not mean I should let my brain go to mush.
• Try 3 new recipes. I'm a creature of habit and tend to rely on the same oldies but goodies.
• Get every room in our apartment fully unpacked, organized, and set up. This includes pictures on the walls. You would think this would be a cinch with 27 days left in the month, but you'd be surprised how lazy I can get when I'm down to just 2-3 boxes.

And I think that's about it! Starting off easy this month, and then maybe I'll ramp it up for September. ; )

Friday Night Lights and Fredericksburg

We got our furniture this past Thursday (yay!!), so most of the weekend was spent unpacking and organizing. But, we did have time for a couple fun excursions. J and I are big Friday Night Lights fans. I wasn't joking when I mentioned that the cast (alledgedly) lives in our complex when they're in town filming-- nor was I joking about my desire to see Tim Riggins (aka Taylor Kitsch) lounging by our pool one of these days... apparently shooting for season 4 starts on September 3rd... hmmmm... but I digress.

Being new to Austin we have a lengthy list of sights we want to check out. And what floated to the top of our list this weekend? If you guessed the Pflugerville Panthers stadium, bingo! (If not, that's cool... you're, um, normal...) This is the school and stadium they use to film the fictional Dillon Panther football team and all their crazy Texas high school shenanigans. If you watch the show, you'll recognize the Panther logo. We drove around the track and football field and recognized some of the angles they use for the show. No celeb sightings, but it was a fun little detour.

We also made a trip out into the Texas hill country to check out Fredericksburg, a small town established by German immigrants in the 1840s. It's a really cute town, full of boutiques, restaurants, and lots of really well preserved buildings from the 19th century. Fredericksburg is located right in the scenic hill country, which is becoming known as the Texas wine country, so we had to stop at a few vineyards to test out the local vino. I probably wouldn't rank it as high as California, Washington, or Oregon wines (what can I say? I'm biased ; ), but it was not bad! At two wineries they had live music, so we grabbed a drink and sat and listened for a while. We're getting the hang of this Texas lifestyle! We only brought home one bottle, but we're looking forward to going back and checking out some other wineries, buying a few more bottles, and maybe spending the night.

Gothic style church from late 1800s

For some reason this picture reminds me of Back to the Future and the picture of Michael J. Fox and his siblings that starts disappearing... anyone?

Historic pioneer courthouse building. And, yes, this dress has been in heavy rotation this summer... I promise I have others!