Weekly update

 
The windows are wide open this morning and I am loving the amazing fall breeze coming through! This will make me sound so lame, but I have learned to love really productive Friday nights (yep, old), but truly-- being able to pick up the dry cleaning, run to the bank, cook and get all the cleaning done makes Saturday and Sunday feel amazing! We can sleep in, make lattes, cook, walk and read all before Noon! It's the best gift I can give myself after a long week.

This week, I happily helped mom with a couple things for her big show that went off without a hitch, and was welcomed home yesterday to the sweetest surprise. She had loaded our front porch with mums, pumpkins and my favorite little cabbages for fall. What a blessing! I have been meaning to get my butt to our local farmers market to load up on these things and have been envisioning them in our garden and on our stoop for days this week, as I've noticed the leaves changing and drifting down the streets. Somehow she read my mind, and I am so grateful. Here's a quick pic.

Gracie is in the backyard right now hunting our groundhog, Gary, which is hilarious to watch. She has the most adorable playful puppy instincts so the moment that she starts to look serious, something makes her wild with excitement. :) And she completly looses whatever concentration she had. We can't believe she will be two in November! We love her so much, and she brings us such joy. We seriously can't imagine loving a baby more than her, although I'm sure we will someday. :)

Will has been on the road a bit this fall, and I get to take a turn this week. I'm headed to Wilmington to meet a few clients tomorrow and will be back Monday night. It feels odd to be traveling again, as the most travel I've done the past three years has been up to 86th street and back :) 

We got to visit our friends Kristi and Brian in Columbus last weekend and their adorable baby boy, Camden. We loved getting to share a couple days with them, just chatting and strolling and running around. We got to meet their great friends and have dinner together Saturday night. It was such a nice break, and reminded us that a short trip out of town to visit friends you don't get to see very much is so worth the time. Plus, they always let us bring Grace, who plays with their two Westies well, even though she looks like a small horse standing next to them. :)

Here's a shot of our "hunting dog."

Happy hunting to you all! Pumpkin hunting, that is.

October?!?!

Well, for two people as chatty and opionionated as me and my wife, we certainly haven't done our own fair share of blogging recently, have we? Actually, life in September was rather hectic, as you could tell from our occasional updates. Mandy started her new job, we had a bit of drama with Cindy's car accident (the bruises have healed!) and I was back on the road for a good chunk of it. But what road trip wouldn't be the same without some pictures and stories...

For instance, check out my hot rental set of golf clubs here...

That was from my trip to Sacramento to visit our group out there. We played this tiny little course and I didn't want to haul my sticks all the way out there, so I rented. Have you ever hit a stone with a frying pan, attached to a wet noodle? Well, if you have, that's what playing with those bad boys was like. It was a good time though!

After that trip, I had a weekend in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. for some events. The downtown aquarium in Baltimore was really cool. Here was the view from our reception room on the top floor...

Not a bad little view. Having never been there before, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with the city, for the 3 hours total I spent in it!

And now here we are in October. Thanks to Mandy's new job, she gets to travel a little bit again (not thrilling to her) and I can reinvent the temporary man cave while she's gone. Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to get the place dirty, but the copious amount of sports viewing would make any woman want to gouge her eyes out.

Speaking of sports viewing, Mandy and I both cringed in agony last night for our two "favorite" sporting events...
1) The Cubs - I think I honestly watched 140 of the 162 regular-season games this year. That is silly, stupid, dedication. And what does it get me? Nothing. The curse lives and it will continue to live.

Side story: Yesterday, I am driving home for lunch listening to the Jim Rome Show (sports talk) and he calls out Cubs fans, saying "I want to hear from you and your Big Ten educated, 3-series driving, golden retriever walking...etc." I almost swerved off the road in my 3-series (on my home to let the golden out) because of the irony that, yes, I am a stereotype.

2) The Presidential race - What, you don't think it's a sport? I do. This campaign has the makings of a marathon race mixed with a little sophisticated football. Let's see which candidate can stand up the longest in the most places while talking mad trash to the other side the entire time. It's become the ultimate reality TV show, and dumb, average Americans eat it up. The VP debate last night proved the point. Biden was ridiculously more knowledgeable and prepared than Palin, but he was too smooth. She threw in common phrases like "doggone it" and "Joe six-pack" to mask her relative ignorance on the issues and endear herself to the millions of people sitting at home who think that personality alone will bring change.

The wild card: One person cried last night during the debate, and it wasn't the mother from Alaska. That was a shock. Mandy and I actually joked that Palin was trying to force a tear during her closing statement, but the emotion might come too late and instead of crying when talking about her kids, she would cry when talking about the deregulation of health care. That would've been funny.

31 days can't pass quickly enough...

And now, as it has become tradition on our blog, a shameless cute picture of our baby, the wannabe lap dog:

Last Post from Lion's Den

Today is my last post from the big red office. It's so difficult to leave something you love and a place you've been so happy. A friend of mine recently put it so well, though. You know it's the right thing when you make the tough decision to leave something you LOVE, because you're not running from anything; not taking the first thing that comes your way because you're desperate to get out. So true, and in my case, much the opposite. I can't believe that almost three years ago, I met my friend Ashley in the lobby (still remember what she was wearing), and met some of the people that would mold and shape the next three years of my life for the first time.
I couldn't be happier or feel more grateful for the opportunity that has come my way. The timing was incredible, and it lets me know that God is working hard on my life, and taking his hand and trusting him blindly brings me incredible peace, amidst my feeling sad.
Here's to a brave new chapter and all that there is in store.

Season of Change

When Mandy and I went on vacation a few weeks ago, we commented about how this was the first fall in a long time where we didn't have a whole lot of change taking place in our lives. In the past it was always something: new job, new house, marriage, etc. One of us was always in a period of flux. This year? Well, we called ourselves boring! Ha!

I guess my wife was sick and tired of a season without change:

I am proud to announce that Mandy is shifting (albeit slightly) in her career and has accepted a new position to work for an agency called Bradley & Montgomery. I am so proud of her and this decision. While locally based, the agency offers a wide variety of national clients for my brilliant wife to stretch her growing advertising ideas.

This is not to say that she isn't a little sad to be leaving her recent home at Publicis. I'm going to miss them too. Great people and a fantastic organization. However, in the competitive world of advertising, job security and client loyalty are never guarantees, and the structure of this new job is perfect for Mandy to really settle down in. I don't think either of us expected a quick change, but it's amazing how quickly the wheels can turn when offers come calling. I am so proud of how quickly Mandy has built her professional resume and credibility here in town and I know this move will be great for everybody.

So, fall is back and we are changing again! Speaking of other fun change, we'll get pictures up on the blog soon of our new backyard, complete with patio furniture!

And, let's not forget the biggest development from this past weekend: I splurged and bought a Wii. Yep, welcome back to my life video games! I'm sure I'll have arm injury stories to report on as I continue to devlop my mad Wii skillz.

Enjoy the crisp air as fall gets closer!

Mini update

After chugging a couple Nyquil, and several teaspoons of some bitter liquid cough syrup (a prescription left over from the winter), I'm finally feeling ready to drift off to sleep this first night of our Labor Day weekend. Hallelujah!

As many of you know, Mom was in a bad car accident this week, and although her little Mini Cooper is completely totaled, we are infinitely grateful for the angels that were by her side Wednesday morning. She is well on her way to recovery with a great attitude, and is healing day by day. Thank you all for the prayers and for all you've done to help support us and her this week. I am humbled and so thankful for the outreach.

In happy news, Mr. Will accepted a great offer picking up a big chunk of play-by-play work for the fall doing IUPUI volleyball, and starts the season this weekend. You can listen to/watch him on www.iupuijags.com. He's got some other NCAA championship work coming up this year too, so he'll be busy. Although a couple date nights will have to be sacrificed, I'm busy on a mission to ready our house and garden for the fall. As soon as I kick whatever bug I picked up in the ER, I'll have pictures to share of our progress.

In the meantime, here's a shot of our baby, staying hydrated at the Dog Park.


Happy Labor Day!

Times they are a-changin'

The windows are wide open tonight and the first few breezes of cool air are drifting in (deep breath)...smells like fall is on its way. We have had stifling temperatures the past couple weeks and my poor grass, garden, dog, etc. can't seem to get enough water or shade. As I turned the corner down our little city block tonight, leash in hand, I saw my neighbors had planted some deeply burnt orange mums and hung their fall wreath. It made me smile the rest of the block.

Oh, how I love the fall... I love school supplies, super sharp pencils in particular, the latest Trapper Keepers, a new season of The Hills, Pumpkin everything, hot coffee, apple candles, and cozy clothes. I imagine that in a place where fall is always the season everyone drives Grand Wagoneers with sheep slip covers on their seats, and they all use Nutmeg, have red reading glasses, a big dog and wear clogs. In my mind, this is how I envision myself, of course. :)

The fall always brings great things for me; so many big life changes. When Will and I were on vacation this year, we joked that everything is surprisingly "normal" for this time of season. Alas, I spoke too soon. We returned to find lots of changes are occurring, and I pray this year, like all the others, will turn out great.

My boss shared with me some wise words this week, which I believe to be true: the best skill, he said, that we can each have is the ability to adapt to change. It will always serve us-- in our work, in our marriage, in our families and in our beliefs....

Each year when I watch the red and gold leaves drop from the trees with great excitement, I remember how thrilled I was in the spring to watch them pop from tiny green buds and burst forth onto their branch. It reminds me that this change is good, and so can all change be good.

Grace and I are going to finish the chapter in our book, light a "mulled cider" candle, kick off the AC and pick the coziest blanket we can find to ring in the new season... even if this cool only lasts a couple days.

Back from Vacation!

Well, it has been a few weeks since Mandy and I updated the good ol' blog. Why? Because we got something we've never experienced in our young, professional lives: 2 weeks of vacation!! It was an interesting experience to say the least. We were still in Indy for the first week, but felt like we were still working. Then, we got to spend the second week in one little piece of heaven, Watervale, a tiny resort in Northern Michigan. We slept, ate, drank, sunned and generally rediscovered the glory of doing almost nothing. No TV, barely any cell phone and a ton of quiet.

The water was freezing all week in the big lake, but it was perfect weather. Calm and sunny almost every day. I always joke with Mandy that when we first started dating, she wasn't as fond of the "do nothing" vacation because she was on edge to, well, do something. Now, with life hectic at home, there is nothing better. The tan is starting to wear off a little and the sleeping 'til 9:00 is not working very well with our work schedules, but I think it's safe to say that we are relaxed and feeling good about the start of another "new year." This time of year always seems like our own personal new year. We've always experienced some sort of transition, and the body clock still feels like I should be getting geared up for the start of another school year.

So, Happy New Year to everybody out there who feels the same way!