Pittsburgh Weekend.

I spent another fun weekend in Pittsburgh! Even though there’s been so much back and forth, I’ve never once regretting the drive to Pittsburgh (even if there’s an impending hurricane in DC and it takes me over an hour to go about six miles). Last week, I was lucky enough to head out on Thursday because I had a dentist appointment on Friday. One of my good friends (and coincidentally M’s roommate’s girlfriend) accompanied me, so it was nice to have someone to talk to through all the traffic. We didn’t get in until close to midnight on Thursday, but it was so nice to wake up on Friday morning knowing that we had the whole weekend ahead of us.

As always, the weekend passed too quickly, but we managed to see a lot of great people and have many fun moments:

• An unexpected Friday morning manicure
• Fall sweater shopping on Friday afternoon
• Lulus Noodles with a great friend and M
• Reconnecting with a very close old friend
• Cheesecake Factory!!!
• Momma’s Birthday Dinner
• Movie night (even though it was scary!)
• An interactive church service with a close friend (and a tearful goodbye as she heads off to London…I’m so proud of her!)
• Birthday cookout for M’s sister

The drive back to DC on Sunday night was pretty uneventful. No traffic, no hurricane, no damage to my apartment when I got home. I was too tired to do much unpacking last night, so I’m stuck with doing it today. However, I had an exhausting day at work (I hate being there past 8 pm), and I currently don’t feel like unpacking much of anything. Additionally, FEMA suggested that I take all the furniture off my balcony, so I’m currently plopped down on the living room floor in the midst of tables and chairs and cushions and the fake-grass plant I thought would look cute outside (still deciding). Excuse my pity party…I’m working up the energy to make a dent in this mess!

Again, I’m hoping for a calm week at work. Today was a little busier than last week, but I’m hoping my customers are out enjoying the last week of summer instead of worrying about their cash management! I’m also looking forward to a special Momma/Daughter weekend in Chicago in just a few days! A close family friend is getting married in the Windy City, and momma and I decided to make a weekend out of it. Anxiously awaiting three days of shopping, eating, sightseeing and wedding fun!

To indulging in Chicago-style pizza,

Lia

Tremors.

So everybody knows that a 5.8 earthquake struck Virginia today, just 90 miles south of the city. I’ve never been in an earthquake before, and it was a very, very scary 30 seconds or so before the shaking stopped. I was on the 12^th floor of our office building in a meeting, and the quake literally shook us out of our seats! Fortunately, we were able to quickly evacuate the building and gather in a nearby park for safety. It was already 2 p.m., and they weren’t able to determine quickly enough if our building was safe to return to, so we were let go for the rest of the day. However, traffic was a mess, and I wasn’t about to get on the metro in the event that there were any aftershocks. Luckily, I had my workout clothes with me since I was planning on going to the gym after work, so I just changed quickly and decided to walk home. Even though I was still shaken up, it was really quite nice to walk home early on a sunny late summer afternoon. It was warm today but not so humid, so I didn’t mind the 3.5 mile trek too much. That counts as my workout for today, right?? Either way, we’re all just thankful that the biggest damage from this earthquake seems to be fairly cosmetic. A little plaster fell off of the Capitol, a pipe burst in the Pentagon and three spires fell off the National Cathedral. None of these are emergencies and none of these cost any lives. We’re very lucky on the east coast today.

In other news, this week has actually been a little bit lighter at work. Obviously, this afternoon was very quiet, but all of this week as been fairly slow. I’m really enjoying the break and using this time to get caught up and more organized.

However, I haven’t been as good about my diet/workout regimen this week. Last night I was planning on going to the gym after work, but we ended up having a spontaneous retirement dinner for one of my coworkers followed by drinks at the W. Today, I had a long walk home instead of hitting the gym. (And then I proceeded to eat nearly a full box of Cheez-Its to calm down from today’s “stress”…am I pushing it??) Regardless, I’m trying to get myself back on the horse. Summer is just so hard with all the extra treats and special events.

Tomorrow, I’m heading to the Nationals game with a big group of co-workers. Very excited, but Shake Shack isn’t going to be good for my diet either!!!

To standing still,

Lia

Today is going to be a good day.

Today was the first day in recent history of my employment that I haven’t wanted to slam my notebook down on my desk and huff out of the office in a fit of anger, hoping that somebody noticed my frustration and offered me a way out, a raise or a back massage. Today, for some reason, I was calm and confident, without worry. It’s not that today was a particularly easy day. I had customers with big issues; I had a huge “to do” list; I worked past 8 p.m.; and I was dealing with difficult situations. But for some reason I was calm through all of this. I even found myself enjoying my work in the early evening, and I pushed myself through to get done with everything I intended to do today. This is certainly something to be proud of! I even found enough motivation to get in a 45 minutes workout when I was done. Who am I?

So I decided tonight I’m letting myself relax. I was slated for a trip to the grocery store, but I think I’m going to indulge in picking up my lunch and microwaving for dinner this week. Sometimes there are just too many things going on, and I want to have time for friends and little indulgences, too. So tonight I caught up with a very dear friend and I’m going to eat ice cream on the couch while watching my DVR of Kardashians. Sounds like the perfect ending to a good day.

To keeping up with the Ks,

Lia

60 years.

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of celebrating my grandparents’ 60^th wedding anniversary. Sixty years is a long time to be together with someone, but my grandparents have mastered it with unending love and dedication. They’re a fantastic example for our family, and their seven grandchildren (myself included) are so lucky to have such strong roots.

Anyway, we had a great (though very quick!) weekend. Friday night we all met in Baltimore for a casual crab dinner on the harbor. It was lots of fun and great food in a casual setting for all of us to catch up. It was also my momma’s birthday, so we had cupcakes that I brought from Baked & Wired after dinner back in the hotel. We didn’t stay up too late chatting, but we did enjoy some wine and cupcakes before heading to bed. On Saturday, we woke up early for breakfast and then went on a boat cruise tour of the Baltimore harbor. Our family was pretty much the only one on the boat (it was pretty overcast), but the captain was fantastic and treated my grandparents to a champagne toast and announced their big day over the ship’s loudspeaker. My Grammy just loved it! After the boat ride, we made it to lunch just in time before it started pouring. The rustic harborside restaurant had a few leaks (actually a lot of leaks), but it was pretty entertaining and we all managed to stay relatively dry. All the grandchildren then retreated to the National Aquarium. I hadn’t been there in several years, and I loved seeing the huge sea turtles and sting rays in the big tank.

The best part of the weekend was Saturday night dinner. We had a lovely, lovely dinner at a romantic Italian restaurant just a few miles from our hotel. The staff gave us a private room with a beautiful cake on display. The food was fantastic, and we had plenty of space for picture taking and chatting.

The weekend ended too quickly on Sunday morning when we got on the road after breakfast. I was so grateful for a quick trip back to DC, especially after two weekends driving back from Pittsburgh. I got to relax and watch a few movies yesterday afternoon (instead of running errands!), so I’m a little behind on this weeks agenda.

MONDAY

Lunch: Pack salad

Dinner: Restaurant week with two fantastic girlfriends!

Chores: Start laundry, clean bathroom

TUESDAY

Lunch: Well, I haven’t gone to the grocery store so it looks like I’ll be buying a salad!

Gym

Chores: Grocery store, finish laundry

Dinner: Something I buy at the grocery store

WEDNESDAY

AM: Gym

Lunch: Pack salad

Baseball game with customers

Dinner: At the ballpark

THURSDAY

AM: Gym

Lunch: Restaurant Week with coworkers

Happy Hour with coworkers

Chores: Clean living room/kitchen

Dinner: Leftovers from Tuesday

FRIDAY

Lunch: Pack salad

Gym

Chores: Vacuum

Dinner: Have something ready for Mike…still not sure…

To toasting to 60,

Lia

Crazy.

I am a crazy person. I'm watching Ice Loves Coco....and I'm sobbing. I need to pull it together. That's all I've got for tonight.

One year.

Today is M and my one year anniversary. In a lot of ways, it seems like one year is barely any time at all. But when I think about everything we’ve been through over the past year, it seems like we’ve covered a lot of territory in this short period of time. We’ve been through weddings and funerals, living together and living far apart, crying and laughing, and birthdays and holidays. We’ve learned more about each other and met each other’s families. We’ve gotten in arguments, but we haven’t gone to bed angry at each other. We’ve worked out our disagreements in person or over the phone, after a few minutes or after hours of trying to understand the other. We’ve made sacrifices and learned from each other. I’m so proud of where we are, and I absolutely can’t wait for many more years of the same.

On another note, last week I blogged about how I wanted to get more control over my life and my schedule. Last night, I planned out my meals, chores and activities for this week. I’m not sticking to it 100%, but I do feel much better knowing what I need to accomplish each day. This is what this week looks like:

MONDAY

Dinner: Lean Cuisine

Chores: Unload dishwasher, take out trash, start laundry, unpack, grocery shopping

TUESDAY

Lunch: Pack salad

Gym

Dinner: Shrimp and rice

Chores: Finish laundry, clean out car

WEDNESDAY

AM: Gym

Lunch: Client lunch

Dinner: Dinner with a friend

THURSDAY

Lunch: Pack salad, manicure

Gym

Dinner: Leftovers from Tuesday

Chores: Pack for Baltimore weekend, clean bathroom

FRIDAY

AM: Gym

Lunch: Pack salad

We’ll see how I do the rest of the week. I’m trying so hard for the AM gym tomorrow!!

To waking up in sneakers,

Lia

Getting It Together

Another week of high stress levels and work anxiety. It literally got to the point this week that I felt like I couldn’t take it any more. I never cry at work, but last night I found myself furiously pounding away at my keyboard (and running late for an industry event), holding back tears and wondering (for the 500^th time) what I can do differently to get out of this place. Luckily, my manager walked over at that very moment and saw me about to go through the window (figuratively) and convinced me that we should discuss my problems after a few glasses of wine. How’s that for a manager?

Today was a little bit calmer, but I’m feeling like I need to make a change. A BIG change--or I’m going to continue to slide down this path of unhappiness, stress and probably pre-mature hunchback.

I turned to the blogosphere this evening to find advice from some of the other ladies who seem to have their lives so together. Most of the women whose blogs I read are in far different positions than me, mostly mothers and housewives. I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to find a solution to my work problems from these women, but I think the answer is less about fixing all my work problems (because honestly, most of them I can’t fix myself) and more about taking control of my life, my attitude and my response to stressful situations. Now that’s something these stay-at-home mommas have mastered. What’s more stressful than caring for a two-year-old and a newborn, cleaning a home, doing laundry for two very messy little people, making 3 meals a day for a family of 4 and planning events for the Junior League? I started looking at how they get it all done. Two words: organization and schedule. These women have binders for everything from recipes and laundry schedules to doctors’ appointments and feeding schedules. They have “life planners” (all by this same woman who sells them for $50…I’m still wondering if that’s worth it) that organize their lives down to what day they’re going to dust the end tables. It might sound extreme, but I think it sounds comforting.

I think I need a schedule, a plan for getting through every day. If I know what to expect and can follow a schedule, maybe I’ll feel a little more balanced and calm when I’m approaching more complicated issues at work.

I’m heading to Pittsburgh this weekend for a little relaxation, but Monday night, I’m going to work on my life schedule. Plan out my week and have realistic expectations about what I can accomplish. Chart out my trips to the gym, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, happy hours, dinners and even my favorite TV shows. If I set expectations early, maybe I’ll feel better about achieving accomplishments, even if it’s as something as small as running on the treadmill three times a week.

I also think I need to focus more on looking forward to the happy things in life. Setting my sights on something positive will help me get through the tougher stuff. So tonight, I’m looking forward to seeing M, riding rollercoasters this weekend and listening to my audiobook on the drive up. I know that’s more than enough to get me through a quick client meeting tomorrow morning.

To putting together the binder,

Lia