Ok, so it's been frickin' forever
Alright, so I've been on a LJ sabatical, with the main reason being that my new job provides few lulls to post. Anyway after being gone so long, it's hard to know where to begin. First of all, life is good. So good. I'm happy again. That feels like an understated way to put it, but I really haven't felt so fulfilled and sincerely happy in a long time. I'm still loving the job, even with its demands and challenges. I'm volunteering--this weekend I'm a docent at the Marietta Pilgrimage tour. And, Paul and I found a church (Vinings Church) and I'm a member of the host team--a smiling face to greet folks. I'm working out through a fitness bootcamp at OPT Fitness. I'm way, way, way out of shape, but the fact that I drag my ass out of bed to work out has elevated my self esteem. Paul and I are in a great spot in our relationship and Cooper has hit such a fun age. He's into everything, talking (and sometimes we can actually understand what he's saying) and he's starting to hug and kiss us.
Our Thanksgiving was a small, simple celebration. Paul's mom came into town. We invited her because she didn't have anywhere to go...well she could have joined her siblings and their families. But, we probably won't see much of her at Christmas, so I'm glad she was able to join us. Anyway, the visit went well...only a few "Maggie moments." Thankfully, I'm learning how to tolerate/cope better during her visits. The funny/sad thing is both Paul and I can tell when Cooper needs a break from her too. Honestly, it's just who she is and there's no changing it. But, I do see she's trying to tame some of her comments. The weirdest moment was we asked her if she wanted to join us for church. (Some history--every visit Maggie attends Catholic mass before heading back home) Without a second's hesitation, she gave us a flat no. But, a few moments later she said she could go to her church and then to our service. The next day, we learn more. Last Sunday was the first Sunday of advent and she really wanted to attend a Catholic service. But, come Sunday morning she didn't get up early enough to go. When she kept complaining about it, I suggested a weekday service, but no. It's not an Advent Sunday service and there are only four of those. Ok, whatever. But, if that's going to be the weird moment of the weekend, I'll take it!
Back to T-giving, I made my cranberry salad, a squash casserole and my kick-ass dressing. We went up to Alpharetta to eat with my family. Joey has moved back to Georgia and has started (or is going to start) looking for a job. So, if ya'll know of a restaurant needing a talented chef, I know one! Joey did the turkey and it was heavenly. The best we've ever had. And, then there were the typical staples, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie and apple pie. So, just the right amount of food and all of it was so good! We took Coops for a walk afterward and generally just laughed and visited throughout the day.
On Saturday, Paul and I made pizzas on the big green egg and invited my fam to our house to watch the Iron Bowl. And, Auburn actually scored, which made me happy. I think my family is a little too energetic/loud for Maggie, but she did a good job managing.
At work I'm moving into some of the final stages of the re-brand roll-out. We officially reveal the logo to our membership on Jan. 9. But, we have a big print deadline to meet on Dec. 9. The deadline is for our campaign materials, which had to be rewritten and re-designed to match our new communication strategy and brand concept. We have an ambitious schedule set and I really hope we can pull it off. Transitioning to the new brand for our other collateral and website will happen throughout 2012. I'm hoping we'll have it all covered in six month. The biggies are two websites--the Chamber's and a new one for our Economic Development department. It's an insane amount of work, on top of our regular production schedule. But, it's an amazing resume builder for me.
What else, we got the pictures back from our family photo shoot. I was certain we wouldn't get too many shots. It was cold and Coops had a constant runny nose and was downright fussy. But, surprisingly we got a good amount of usable stuff for holiday cards and Christmas presents!
I'll try my best to post on a more regular basis, once a week is a good goal. Missing my LJ/FF fam a bunch and hope to see ya'll soon!
Our Thanksgiving was a small, simple celebration. Paul's mom came into town. We invited her because she didn't have anywhere to go...well she could have joined her siblings and their families. But, we probably won't see much of her at Christmas, so I'm glad she was able to join us. Anyway, the visit went well...only a few "Maggie moments." Thankfully, I'm learning how to tolerate/cope better during her visits. The funny/sad thing is both Paul and I can tell when Cooper needs a break from her too. Honestly, it's just who she is and there's no changing it. But, I do see she's trying to tame some of her comments. The weirdest moment was we asked her if she wanted to join us for church. (Some history--every visit Maggie attends Catholic mass before heading back home) Without a second's hesitation, she gave us a flat no. But, a few moments later she said she could go to her church and then to our service. The next day, we learn more. Last Sunday was the first Sunday of advent and she really wanted to attend a Catholic service. But, come Sunday morning she didn't get up early enough to go. When she kept complaining about it, I suggested a weekday service, but no. It's not an Advent Sunday service and there are only four of those. Ok, whatever. But, if that's going to be the weird moment of the weekend, I'll take it!
Back to T-giving, I made my cranberry salad, a squash casserole and my kick-ass dressing. We went up to Alpharetta to eat with my family. Joey has moved back to Georgia and has started (or is going to start) looking for a job. So, if ya'll know of a restaurant needing a talented chef, I know one! Joey did the turkey and it was heavenly. The best we've ever had. And, then there were the typical staples, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie and apple pie. So, just the right amount of food and all of it was so good! We took Coops for a walk afterward and generally just laughed and visited throughout the day.
On Saturday, Paul and I made pizzas on the big green egg and invited my fam to our house to watch the Iron Bowl. And, Auburn actually scored, which made me happy. I think my family is a little too energetic/loud for Maggie, but she did a good job managing.
At work I'm moving into some of the final stages of the re-brand roll-out. We officially reveal the logo to our membership on Jan. 9. But, we have a big print deadline to meet on Dec. 9. The deadline is for our campaign materials, which had to be rewritten and re-designed to match our new communication strategy and brand concept. We have an ambitious schedule set and I really hope we can pull it off. Transitioning to the new brand for our other collateral and website will happen throughout 2012. I'm hoping we'll have it all covered in six month. The biggies are two websites--the Chamber's and a new one for our Economic Development department. It's an insane amount of work, on top of our regular production schedule. But, it's an amazing resume builder for me.
What else, we got the pictures back from our family photo shoot. I was certain we wouldn't get too many shots. It was cold and Coops had a constant runny nose and was downright fussy. But, surprisingly we got a good amount of usable stuff for holiday cards and Christmas presents!
I'll try my best to post on a more regular basis, once a week is a good goal. Missing my LJ/FF fam a bunch and hope to see ya'll soon!