Crutons and Ranch

After a very very long week at work, I was excited to go somewhere different on a Friday night. Instead of sitting at home watching Dexter, we met two other couples for dinner at greystone. Jordan was just asked to be on the junior member board, so we went over there to meet some of the other boardmembers. We rarely go to the club to eat, so it was a nice change of pace. After the salad course, i realized one of the things i love most about country clubs are their ranch dressing and crutons. I know, that's not why you join a club, but when i was little I remember going to the club with my parents for sunday lunch and I would just fill my plate with those yummy crutons covered in ranch, and that was Riverchase. There must be one central distributor that all clubs order their salad toppings. As long as that distributor doesnt go out of business, i'll be happy.

Learning Moderation

Well, the dr. didnt have much to tell me. He sent off blood tests to check for mono or a thyroid problem that might explain my lack of energy. I, on the other hand, decided that maybe I was just being mentally lazy and needed to jump start myself back into action. So, i decided to take matters into my own hands and be true to the promise i made myself to start martial arts training. I found a gym near my house, and after speaking with the owners on Tuesday evening, I went back last night for their Muay Thai kickboxing class. Let's just say that I quickly realized that I was not being mentally lazy. This class was awesome, but intense. However, if my energy was low before, it's almost non existant now. I cant wait to get back to that gym b/c it will def help my stress level (everyone should throw on boxing gloves and hit things, its amazing), but i might just need to wait till the blood tests get back. I dont like moderation.

Bla

I was sick a few weeks ago, but I still dont feel 100%. I just have no energy. Its hard to focus which means i'm not as productive as i'd like to be which is frustrating. So, back to the Dr. tomorrow to find a solution. Till then, back to work.

A Dirty Goodbye

I was driving to work on Friday and while stopped in some traffic on 459 I realized I was behind this trucker with quite a dirty back door. If you cant read this, it says "Goodbye George W." I'm not usually very awake on the ride to work in the mornings, so i'm surprised I even noticed this. Now although I didnt vote for Obama, I am definitely glad to see W go. Who knows what the administration brings, but judging from the fact that Obama has to now pick up the pieces, I think this trucker gave W a very proper, dirty goodbye. Back to crawford buddy boy.

Thanks Gillian

Go with the flow

Let go of fear and your need to control. Relinquish anxiety. Let it slip away, as you dive into the river of the present moment, the river of your life, your place in the universe.

Stop trying to force the direction. Try not to swim against the current, unless it is necessary for your survival. If you've been clinging to a branch at the riverside, let go.

Let yourself move forward. Let yourself be moved forward.

Avoid the rapids when possible. If you can't, stay relaxed. Staying relaxed can take you safely through fierce currents. If you go under for a moment, allow yourself to surface naturally. You will.

Appreciate the beauty of the scenery as it is. See things with freshness, with newness. You shall never pass by today's scenery again!

Don't think too hard about things. The flow is meant to be experienced. Within it, care for yourself. You are part of the flow, an important part. Work with the flow. Work within the flow. Thrashing about isn't necessary. Let the flow help you care for yourself. Let it help you set boundaries, make decisions, and get you where you need to be when it is time. You can trust the flow, and your part in it.

Today, I will go with the flow

Melody Beattie

"The Language of Letting Go"

Dexter

Over the past few months Ive been hearing alot of things about this show Dexter on Showtime. Now, jordan and I have a good many shows that we are dedicated to: The office, 30 Rock, Lost, West Wing (reruns), Weeds. And then I have my shows: Grey's, Desperate Housewives, Private practice, biggest loser. So, we really dont need another show to take up our time. However, against my own advice, we netflixed the first season of Dexter this weekend. Turns out...we haveanother show on the list. It's suprising how addicting a show about a serial killer cop can be. Its really good. So, really no more shows now, this is out of control.

Under Construction

I'm laying around for most of today updating my blog and watching Untold stories of the ER. Very productive day. I'm trying to update the design and get my signature to post. Im having a hard getting my signature transparent so for now you will see a little white box around it. If anyone has an ideas for me on how to fix this, please share .

In other news, we went to Standard Bistro last night with Jordan's parents for an early birthday celebration for jordan, and it was Delicious!!! I had never been there before, and I definitely want to go back soon. Tonight we are going back to the Gaston's for Coqu au vin, a french dish that i am very excited about. Here is a pic:
Yumm. Ok, I probably need to get off my butt and do something more productive since i'll be indulging in rich foods later. Off to clean I guess...

The Firm

I got our practice photos back, so I wanted to show off the team looking all professional and important. That's David on the left, me, then Daniel. (a.k.a. Burns, Jones & Lecompte financial advisors) Again, this isnt a place for me to talk about work, but I am very excited about starting the year with the new group, new ideas, and new goals.

On another note, I looked up dates and tickets for my triumphant return to Dublin. I'm looking at either the beginning or the end of August. I'm using my skymiles, so I only have a few windows of time when the tickets are avaliable. I CANT WAIT to get back!

Pinot Camp

Ive started going to this one particular wine tasting lately. It is at the western supermarket in mtn brook village on thursdays after work. It is a dedicated group of mostly older gentlemen who, for one hour a week, socialize and sip on 6 or 7 different types of wine. What I love about the group is that not only are the people so incredibly nice, they arnt really wine snobs, they just love getting together and happen to be drinking wine at the same time. While I'm there tonight, one of the guys asks me if i'm going to camp this year. Camp? I love camp. I use to spend each summer at Sumatanga, nestled in the woods of Gallant, AL. But he was not referring to a place to canoe and camp, instead he was referring to....Pinot Camp! An annual tradition at the B&A Warehouse, where, for $30 or so, you taste around 25 different Pinots. This year from the Washington state region. How great is that? I was starting to miss summer camp as a kid, but I like adult camping. Pinot camp, here i come!

Boys being Boys, and then there's me.

I have something to admit.

I really like watching Ultimate Fighting. I'm not kidding. I like it so much, I wish I could be a fighter. Honestly, how awesome would be to have to skills and the ability to just go and kick someone's ass (in a monitored environment of course). When I think of what the ultimate stress reliever would be...that's it. I dont necessarily get into the specifics of different fighters (Jordan knows much more than me), but I do have my favorites: Randy Couture, Rampage Jackson, Stephen Bonner, Forest Griffin, and of course, Congo...just to name a few. There are some women fighters like Gina Carano and Randy's wife, whose name I cant think of. And, they are pretty bad ass. Sure, the sport looks like a testosterone filled slug-fest, and who would have thought that myself, a studied and self proclaimed feminist would enjoy it, but honestly, i just cant help myself.

Last year I said I would find a place to take mixed martial arts classes, but of course i didnt. This year any stranger that pisses me off better watch out b/c, i'm gonna learn how to do this. Wait and see...

Back to Basics

I am finally feeling better after almost ten days of just being sick, and i'm never sick. It's so frustrating to be out of commission for that long, especially when you want to start a new year fresh and enthusiastic. But, i'm finally almost back to normal, so ive decided my new year started today. Luckily, with this new year comes a renewed sense of motivation. I feel rejuviated and it is a blessing because for alot of last year I was missing that feeling.

I read an article today in a magazine that I get in my mailbox at work probobly once a month, and have honestly never given the time of day until now. (sidenote: i said i wasnt going to talk alot about work, and here i am mentioning my work mailbox on day 2, but hear me out this story just starts there, but finishes elsewhere). So, the article was about keeping focussed on your goals, and keeping your values in the front of your mind. It's all a bit philisophical, and not something new to me, but for some reason today it struck a chord. Last year i was so focussed on the task at hand, and the consequences of the failure or success of that task that i lost track of the big picture. What i needed was a constant reminder of what is important to me because it is so easy to forget during the hussle of the day to day.

So, i'm challenging myself this year not to lose focus on the big picture; to be more cognitant of the present and what i'm working towards. I'm honestly going so far as to writing down my goals and values, and keeping them at my desk. It might be a goal in my work life or my home life, but i wont feel satisfied in either if i dont stay focussed and reminded of what I want to happen. Plus, and most importantly, I'm only going to focus on the things I can control. Everything else is just not for me to worry about. Why didnt i allow myself to come to this conclusion last year, who knows?

Our new Blog

Well here we go, I wanted to get back into blogging, but since its been so long and my life has changed so much, I decided my old blog (Dublin Gal) needed a fresh face. That one is still out there, but here is the new one. This will chronicle the events of Jordan and my life as a married couple living in Birmingham, AL. Also included will be our two cats Elizabeth (ellie) and Spencer (spence). They are always up to crazy antics, so every now and then, they will make an appearance. I will be making most of the posts, but Jordan will be a contributing writing, giving us feedback on his passion which are movies. You might hear from him more often now because it is awards season and we are gearing up for that by seeing lots of movies lately.

As far as the look of the blog designing goes, i'm still working on that. I'm not too technogically savy, but ive been directed to cute blog design websites so hopefully i'll get this thing lookin a little less drab soon.

Also, I work alot, but i'll try not to bring my work into the blog for serveral reasons. One b/c that will prob just bore you, and two ive found it can be all encompassing, and one of my goals this years is to put more seperation between work and home. So if something deserves mentioning about work i'll let you know, otherwise i'll try and refrain. Jordan is currently in the job hunt, so that will be mentioned b/c its a very exciting time for us with him finishing school in May.

Ok, its off to see another movie, today its Doubt with Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymore Hoffman. We'll let you know how it goes!