You Can Always Go Home

The fact that I haven't updated the blog since April is a little embarrassing, granted I am pretty sure no one missed me!   Being in PA by myself with the girls and preparing us for our big move back home has kept me pretty busy.    During the middle of this time where Hubby has been in Atlanta and us girls have been living here in PA,  it seemed like it was taking forever to get to our "move" day.   However, our final few days in PA are upon us and I would be remiss if I didn't say I am sad to leave this beautiful state.   

I am an extremely blessed woman - I have the most loving, giving, accepting family and set of friends imaginable.   So, I have not spent one day feeling sorry for myself or unappreciative of what God has given us.    This experience has led us down one crazy path that has opened doors for Hubby and put friends in our path that would not have come otherwise.   Some people go on shows like Survivor or the Amazing Race to test themselves.  We Deaks just like to move to a place on faith that is so far away from our "normal" only to leave and return home again 11 months later.   However, as a wise friend often reminds me of what her Daddy says "You can always go home".  And as another friends tell me "You are not the first and will not be the last to do this, so get over yourself!"  God bless those friends - they are so right!!!!!

So, our time in PA is almost up and I know I will not get around to saying goodbye to the many great people I have met while living here.   From my amazing neighbors, the strong "gym" girls, and the great mothers whose babies attend school with my girls, I have met some fantastic people!   I will not get the chance to hug the necks of those people one last time, so to you all I just say our door is always open in GA if you ever find yourself in Hotlanta.  

xoxo
Jennifer

My Bucket List (for Pennsylvania)

While we have only been in PA for a mere 9 months,  it feels as though we have done so much!  Because I knew our time here was limited and this was not a forever move, I decided early on to treat each day like it could be the last and get outside and enjoy all this state (or the eastern half of it) had to offer.  I must say I kept us pretty busy until the weather made me into a hermit :)

HOWEVER - I have so, so much more that I want to do before I leave.  Therefore I am creating my Pennsylvania Bucket List.   PA Pals -  feel free to read through and tell me to scratch things off or add to based on your expertise!   I am sure I won't get around to it all, but at least putting it down in writing acts as a sort of plan - I do love a good plan!

1. Visit Gettysburg
2. Philly Museum of Art - actually go past the Rocky steps and inside!
3. Take the girls to Hershey Park and the museum - who doesn't want to ride roller coasters and   sample chocolate???
4. Watch a regatta off Boathouse Row - especially since rowing is not a sport down South.
5. Run the 10 miles of Kelly Drive - I ran part of the Schuylkill last spring, but need to do the entire river!
6. Go inside Independence Hall - the line has always scared me off, but I need to see the inside
7. Sample more Philly Cheesesteaks - gotta find the best :) 
8. Visit Princeton (ok, technically New Jersey, but close enough)
9. Atlantic City, baby!
10. More time with the dear friends I have made here!  More time in the great outdoor spaces, farmers markets, parks, etc!

I know that this is goodbye for Pennsylvania, which is surprisingly harder for me than I had thought.  Given the short time here, I had not expected to feel such mixed emotions as the time of our move draws near.    I am thrilled to return home - where I feel most like me.  However, I have come to enjoy the sights, sounds and people in this area and they all will be missed.   Well, maybe not the winters!!!

I guess if I don't get this all done, it will give me more of a reason to come back and visit!

Kelly Drive - image courtesy of www.philly.com

Into the Details

I quickly realized (after several texts and emails) that I was pretty vague and didn't really get into the specifics surrounding our move back home and inquiring minds want to know what the heck!   That was purposely designed given the lack of details I was able to supply everyone at the time.    I will get into some details a little further down in this post.  For now, here's a little update on the last week in our crazy world!

Since Hubby started work with his new company, Experience, over A and M's spring break, we decided it made perfect sense to take an impromptu trip back to Georgia.   My biggest mission was to find a house so we could quickly get back to being under one roof since this new job is in Atlanta and we are currently Pennsylvania residents (small minor detail).   And spending the week with family and friends would be icing on the cake, so we loaded up and made the 14 hour drive down.

It was a fantastic week that included celebrating a dear friend's birthday (much love to ya, CSA) and watching A turn 7 and sharing her big day with some of her dearest pals and family.    In lieu of a party this year, she just asked for "envelopes of cash" and a day at the American Girl store so she could spend it all!  We had planned a trip into Manhattan for her birthday, but with our trip to Georgia we had to rearrange and fortunately, there is a store in Atlanta (yes GA friends, I know that Alpharetta isn't really Atlanta, but the RHWOA claim it to be, so I will too for the sake of my Philly friends).    Needless to say, she burned through her money, which is very easy to do there, and wound up with a new doll and other overpriced items that I am sure she will love for years to come, right??  Since we lack a home in GA right now, I entertained some of her pals later that afternoon at the local girly salon for some mani/pedi action.     All in all, A was quite pleased with the rearrangement of her birthday plans and didn't seem to mind at all that we skipped the trip to Manhattan.    We ended the week by spending Easter with family and even managed to squeeze in a date night to one of our local favs, C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar - (thanks Amy for keeping the girls).

The week with all my favorite people made me realize just how much I miss being home and am so excited to return.   Praying these next months fly right past!


Now for the details:

• Hubby - new job as mentioned above and he loves it!  As if he didn't watch and talk enough sports before, this just took him to a whole other level!!!   He is spending the weeks in Atlanta and will get home as often as he can.   I am trying not to be jealous as he gets to enjoy flip-flops a lot sooner than the rest of us!  Just going to focus on the prize :)
• House - we found one and are under contract!  Back in East Cobb  - different elementary  and middle school, but still Walton High.  Now just praying it passes inspection and appraisal!
• Dates - our close is set for June 12th, so the following weekend we will pack it all up and say goodbye to the great northeast!
• Vacation - yes, I will need one heck of one after this is all said and done!  I mean two huge moves in less than a year - thank goodness for good hair coloring because the gray hair just keeps on coming!

Birthday Girl

Sweet Friends (missing E)

Nail Time

Egg Hunting

Say What?????

Pardon my laziness in updating the blog - life above the Mason Dixon has been far from uneventful.   Over the past month, we have been on a little bit of a roller coaster and I can't think of a better way to summarize why that is the case than to share this video with you all.

If the above video doesn't work for you (always trouble for the iPad and mobile device), check it out on YouTube

We have lots of details to work through.  The biggest one is done - Hubby starts a new job next week and he couldn't be more excited to be back in Atlanta working on a great product with some wonderful people.    Everything else will work itself out - just need to find us a home right back in our old hood of East Cobb and then get the moving trucks loaded!    Just that simple, right?  It was this time last year that I was going through the same motions and craziness of a move and am pretty sure there are many a gray hair as a result of the stress.   But for now I will just bask in being elated, estatic, pumped, etc... to be moving back home.   Afterall, it's where the heart is :)

Rocky Mountain High

First off, this post is coming via my iPad, so please excuse any craziness you may encounter while reading! As much as I adore it, the iPad is no substitute for my trusty MacBook! But I am without it for the week, so work with me here ;)

I am finally coming off my skiers' high to write about our recent family vacation to one of our favorite places - Telluride, Colorado. I am sure there are other resorts that rival it, but I just cannot imagine! It is a haul to get there, but so very worth it. Beautiful mountain scenery blends with no lift lines and long, uncrowded runs to make a fantastic ski experience! Once we ski our first few runs, we quickly forget that it took two plane rides and a 2.5 hour drive to arrive at the resort!

This year's trip was super special because we met up with our best family out there and even brought the kids along to ski this year. We love spending time with the P family and are so thankful that we were able to arrange the trip together! My girls were in absolute heaven to have five days with their best friends from back home, M & E! They were a sight for sore eyes!

I knew the time would come when my kids were better skiers that me and it happened while on this trip. Especially, A - that girl has absolutely no fear, unlike myself who can't help worry about how our family would survive if I broke a limb! Since she doesn't let fear interfere with a good time, she just goes and goes! M enjoyed herself and skis well, too. However, there were a few mornings spent coaxing her into ski school and she was the first one to break out of her skis and boots at the end of the day. She told us that she would prefer a beach vacation next time! Regardless, all four girls had a good time, as well as us parents. After a full day of skiing, the evenings were spent relaxing our sore bodies in the hot tub while the kids found a second wind and would swim in the heated, outdoor pool. I am pretty sure they all slept harder than ever over those days - E would practically beg to go to sleep she was so darn tired!

It was a great five days and we were all super sad to see our ski trip and time with the P family come to a close. I think I saw more sunshine over those 5 days than I have seen in the past two months here in PA! Now, I am ready for something tropical and warm - I have had my feel of cold weather for quite a while!

Feeling Like a Bear

I am starting to understand the principal of hibernation - a little too much.   January has been cold and mostly grey, leaving us as a family to just stay inside and have "jammy days" on the weekends.  Add in the fact that it gets dark early and I find it really hard to leave my warm house when it is snowing and below freezing outside!   I do manage to force in some running despite the fact that I can't feel my face when doing so.  Cabin fever? Yeah, we might have a little bit of it up here!  So we are making it a priority to get out, at least a little :)

A couple of weekends ago, we took the girls skiing in the Poconos at Blue Mountain.    We figured it was a great way to test out all of their new ski equipment before we head off to Telluride later this month.   They girls had a ball in ski school while Hubby and I enjoyed some runs - just the two of us!  We haven't had a "day date" in quite a while!   And it resulted in a quiet night back at home since A & M were worn out from all the hard work.   Since it is a quick 1.5 hour away, we will do this more often - win for all.

This past weekend, Hubby went to pay his respects to his late Uncle in Ohio.  So the girls and I stayed behind and spent one of the days visiting the Please Touch Museum in Philly.   This museum reminded me a lot of Imagine It in Atlanta, but it was much bigger and even has a century-old carousel inside of it - which has some serious history and was the highlight of the trip for the girls.   
And finally,  I was invited to spend a day volunteering at a wonderful organization Cradles to Crayons with some women from St. David's Church.    This non-profit takes like-new and new clothing from donations and works with social organizations, nurses, teachers, etc., to help children in need.    I was impressed at the sheer volume of donations that were there and how efficiently running this warehouse was in which to help.    I really enjoyed helping here and am looking forward to returning with this group again next month and maybe taking A & M.   That is one of the things I liked about this group is that they encourage children to come volunteer in the warehouse.  

Outside of school, work, and the girls' gymnastics and most recently, ice-skating lessons, we have been enjoying ourselves at home a lot.   It is nice for us to spend time together as a family and I know as soon as the ground thaws out, we will be back outside and getting busy.   So I am going to enjoy these lazy weekends while we can!  Seriously - who would pass up drinking red wine by a fire in your jammies????  Not this peach!

Carousel at Please Touch Museum

Piano from the movie Big

Silly girls

Ski Hubby - "Not quite Colorado...but it will do"

Mangia! Mangia!

What???

Why the weather outside is brutal right now, I won't punish the great north east for it.   At least not yet - it looks like there is some relief next week from these below freezing temps!   Instead I will focus on the the positives of the Philly area - my personal favorite being that there are Italian influences everywhere - most notably the restaurants!!  And really good ones!!

Despite mentally knowing that my heritage is primarily German & Scottish, my heart would like to think there are some secret Italian roots buried deep within my soul.   I adore so much about the culture - from just the sound of the language, to the love of family, and of course - the love of food!!  And living in this area really allows me to buy some great Italian food, cuts of meats, delicious cheeses, fresh veggies, etc,.  So if not dining out on an Italian feast, I can try to make one at home.

One of my favorite dishes to make on a cold day is Pasta e Fagioli.   There are a gazillion recipes and ways to make this soup.  Is it ground beef or sausage?  With or without kidney beans?  Fresh versus dried herbs?   Any which way it is made, it always comes out delicious and comforting on a day when Old Man Winter rears his ugly head!  So here is my favorite recipe in case any of you are a human popsicle like myself and need a little soup for the soul in order to defrost! 

Pasta e Fagioli
1 lb bulk hot Italian sausage ( I use turkey sausage myself)
2 large carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs rosemary, stems removed and chopped
4 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper
8 cups chicken broth or stock
15 oz can canellini beans (white kidney beans)
1 cup ditalini pasta (or other very small pasta)
A few handfuls of spinach (you can omit if you don't like - most traditional recipes don't call for it but I add for the extra nutrients)
grated parmesan cheese
crusty bread, for serving (we always get sourdough)

Heat large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add sausage and stir, breaking into small pieces as it browns.  Cook until browned, 3-4 minutes.  Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic to pan.  Add small bit of olive oil if there are not enough drippings from sausage.  Add bay leaf, rosemary, and sprigs of thyme.  Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add in chicken broth, 2 cups of water, and canellini beans.  Cover the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Stir in pasta.  Lower heat to a simmer, and cook until pasta is al dente.    Discard bay leaf and stems from thyme.   Add spinach here if you like and stir a few times until wilted.

Serve with crusty bread and top with shredded cheese.

Lowcountry Love

I took a little trip below the Mason Dixon this past weekend for some much needed girl time and warm weather!  Charleston, South Carolina is one of my most favorite places to visit, not just because of its historical charm and geographical location, but also because my longtime bestie, AL lives there!   She coordinated a girls' weekend with some pals from around the south (including another longtime bestie - TTD) and we were blessed with some of the prettiest January weather to top it all off - just what I needed after being chilled to the bone for the past few weeks living up north.   However, it could have been freezing in Charleston and I wouldn't have cared.  Spending time with these gals, a few whom I have known since middle school, was all I needed.   We have seen each other though the best and worst of times, been a part of each others milestones and even supported each other through the "Friends" era, where we all decided to get "The Rachel" hairstyle (which one of us really thought that was a good idea?)  You can't put a price tag on that kind of friendship!

Whenever I visit Charleston, I am always left wanting to live there.   I don't think I would ever tire of the vibe that city has - it marries the best of old south with a fresh, college feel!   People are laid-back, good natured and seem to always have a good time.   There are always new and upcoming hot spots and restaurants, so we had to take in one for dinner on Saturday night.  Whether I was just famished or the food was that darn amazing, I very much enjoyed the meal that The MacIntosh served - seriously juicy glazed pork shoulder that just melted in my mouth and the pork ravioli were to die for - highly recommend this place to anyone visiting!  And Charleston has plenty of oldies, but goodies too - I am never served a bad meal at High Thyme on the island and my shrimp and chorizo grits for brunch was amazing!!   You could really eat your way through the town - and drink!

And no girls' weekend would be complete without hitting a few nightspots and trying to feel young again - especially when you visit a bar that is dubbed "college bar".  The music was good and drinks cold, so we didn't mind hanging even if we were 10+ years older than most inside!   After watching these "twenty-somethings" do their thing, I decided I like being "thirty-something" and am more comfortable in my own skin now than ever.   I wouldn't go back to that time for anything (well, maybe for a few lazy mornings of sleeping in and the ability to stay awake past 10 pm every once in a while!)  

Aaaaah - what a great, relaxing weekend with some of my favorite people.   And I have to give a shout out to my amazing hubby who recognizes how good weekends like this are for me and encourages them!   I am very blessed to have such an awesome Mr. Mom while I am away having fun - makes it a little easier to get on that plane and come home, leaving friends, the beach, and warmer weather behind!   But the weekend wasn't fully complete due to some dear friends who couldn't make it, so a redo is in order - any reason to get back to Charleston!!

The Wonder Years (well just our twenties)

 

 

 

Like fine wine, right? Miss you IUC!

Rooftop bar in January?  Yes, please!

Holidays...Part II

This post is coming a little (well, more like a lot) later than I had planned...

As mentioned in previous post, Christmas ended and one family rolled out and we made room for our second set of family guests here to visit Philadelphia for the first time.   Hubby's sister, her hubby G, and our nephew D had made plans shortly after we moved to come and we had really planned to show them the city and surrounding areas....but if you ever want to test God's sense of humor, just make a plan!  

Our visit was altered slightly - first when my sweet sister-in-law broke her ankle on Christmas Eve.   She is a trooper and was relentless about not letting her walking cast and crutches hinder her sight seeing.  And I was impressed and amazed at how well she maneuvered with just one good working leg!! 

Then, on the day I had planned for us to see Amish Country, Mother Nature decided to bring us some snow!  At first I was bummed that we weren't able to share beautiful Lancaster Co. with them, but after a few hours of steady snowfall - it was really nice to just watch it come down and see the kids having a blast in the snow.   We ended up with around half a foot of snow and for us "Southerners" it qualified as a blizzard.    While seeing a horse and buggy is kind of neat for the kids, snow is so, so much more cool and fun!

To round out their trip, we made it into the city for a little Philly sightseeing, complete with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Art Musuem (Rocky and his steps) and of course - a Philly cheesesteak!   I guess the third time is a charm because Jim's on South Street was amazing and well worth 15+ minute wait in line just to get our order taken!   It is a no frills and no funny business - cash only kind of place.   But served the best cheesesteak I have had yet in this city, complete with provolone, onions and sweet peppers!   If your mouth is watering, they will FedEx you one :)

Again, super sad to see family leave....especially given that it might be summer before we are all back together again.  To pass the time, I will  stay focused on making this year a fantastic year for our family.   2012 started off extremely rocky with the passing of my wonderful mother-in-law, then Hubby left his "work family" of over 10 years to start out on an new adventure that moved us right on out of our comfort zone, then the loss of another family member when Hubby lost his uncle, and there were lots of other "little" things in between.  So it was a year packed with change, a lot of sadness, and crazy anticipation of what is to come for us.  

 While a little late,  CHEERS to a HAPPY, HEALTHY & BLESSED 2013 (cue the red wine)!

M and Uncle G putting on the finishing touches

Have sled, will travel!

The awesome snowman Uncle G made!

Kids paying their respects to Rocky

Christmas Recap - Part I

Now that the hustle and bustle of the season has passed, I can finally sit down and sum up our past couple of weeks.   While I have haven't had much alone time between our visiting families and the girls being home from school, we were blessed to have our families here and couldn't have been happier having them all in our home for the visits.   It really made our first Christmas in PA so much better!  So here's Part I....

Flower Tree

My parents and sister came in a few days before Christmas, but failed to bring me some warm weather and sunshine!  Instead we introduced them to their first white Christmas.   We spent Christmas Eve at Longwood Gardens (for my southern pals, think Biltmore Estate with less house and way more gardens).   I had been told by several PA pals that this was a "not to miss place" at Christmas time and it did not disappoint.  The gardens and conservatory were filled with beautiful flowers and lit up as the evening sky darkened.   It was truly a beautiful place that was only made more magical as the snow began to fall during our tour of the estate and grounds.   It was once owned by the du Pont family and the history of the place dates back to the 1700s - a little of the history can be found here.   It is worthy of a repeat visit and cannot wait to do so this spring when many of the flowers are in bloom.

The girls had a great Christmas morning - Santa was good to us all this year!  A received her pink guitar and has been in singer/songwriter mode ever since.   M is enjoying all the American Girl gymnastics equipment and clothes for her doll.   And as much as I tried to fight it, we ended up with a giant 3 foot piece of plastic most commonly known as the Barbie Dream House.   I give that gift about 1 month of playtime and then will be used as a giant doorstop!  And I failed to capture a single Christmas morning picture - yikes!   Hubby got it all on film, so crisis diverted. 

After all the gifting, we spent the remainder day nestled by the fire and just enjoying our time together as a family.  We had great plans to travel to Washington Crossing, PA to see the reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware river, but between the snow, wind and blistering temps - the decision to stay in was not difficult to make!  Maybe we will try that next year....  Instead, we ate, drank and enjoyed staying in our jammies just a little longer than normal.  

It was hard to see them all leave, knowing it would be a while before we are all back together again.   We were only lonely for just a couple of days before our next set of family arrived....that adventure will be posting in Part II.

I really can't get two girls smiling at once anymore!

I aspire to have a table set to this extreme!

The family

Christmas light, music, and fountain show