This past weekend was a busy weekend - my friend, Haley hosted her daughter's first birthday party (see Gardiner Family of Four blog) and Kelsey and I ran a half marathon.
I took pictures of Haley's daughter's birthday party but her blog is much better. Needless to say it was a pink heaven - pink everything - balloons, desserts, candy, lemonade, bubbly - and it was a big hit!
This little girl is so loved and I had fun shopping for her first birthday gift, which was found on pinterest thanks to Haley's bountiful pinning of all things she wants to buy for Anne.
Of note - if Carl approaches you to see what I may want or need for a gift please feel free to direct him to my pinterest boards.
On Sunday morning Kelsey and I ran the LIVESTRONG half marathon. It was my 6th (coincidentally her 6th as well) and our 4th in a row together!
It's so meaningful to me that we have done this for so many years together! I have no doubt Kelsey could run faster than I do but she is patient enough to let me set the pace (in my old age) and we do a good job of taking care of and checking in with each other.
The weather was pretty amazing but the course is, as always, tough. It's about 6 total miles of hills, which certainly makes me feel like more of a bad ass but it's hard! Overall I feel pretty accomplished with how we did. My goal is always to run the entire thing and we did that (except for some small walks when drinking water).
Today my much awaited massage was scheduled and despite some scheduling issues I managed to get one later in the afternoon.
Kelsey and I have also decided to train for the London Marathon in 2014 - assuming we get into the lottery. If not, we'll reevaluate and decide if we want to fundraise for it or pick a different one. For now I think we'll just enjoy running for the sake of running before it's too hot and not enjoyable.
Tomorrow it's back to work after a holiday weekend. I'm pretty sure I'll be squeezing in a full week of work in just 4 days since I'm on the road all of next week but I have another fun weekend to look forward to.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Down Under
One of the greatest perks about my job (and I'm really trying to focus on the perks right now) is that I get to periodically travel to cool places.
When I first started traveling for work I thought it was pretty exciting. I would often add on some additional time in each new city to get some additional free time. But as the many years of work travel have added up, I do this less and less. Partly because I rarely go to a new city anymore and partly because I'm typically ready to get home and get back into my Austin routine.
But every so often I get to travel to some cool places. Most recently (directly from my honeymoon) I went to Brisbane, Australia. There is an annual international psycho-social oncology conference. I've been to it once before in Vienna, Austria - both because I was accepted as a conference speaker.
Devon also went on this trip for some additional work related projects with some partners in Australia. And I'm super glad she was there - for many reasons!
As previously stated, leaving my honeymoon and re-entering the work world was hard but spending a week in Australia, with Devon, was the best way to re-enter it. Not only did it give me time to check emails and get caught up at my own pace, without people coming to my desk or spending all day in my meetings, it also allowed me to spend time with one of my favorite people!
I hadn't dissected the wedding with anyone yet and, of course, hadn't told anyone about our honeymoon so it was fun to recap this with her. She also caught me up on her life and how work had been. I left the week that the Fall Lance drama hit (USADA report) and it was a tough week at the office. I was thrilled to leave (with a smidge of guilt) but I was glad to get caught up. For those of you who know Devon she is a great story teller so I knew her facts would be thorough and entertaining!
We rented a one bedroom condo for the five days we were there, which was perfect. We shared a room but there was a kitchen and living area so we had plenty of space, which was often needed with our weird jet lagged bodies. It was the start of Summer in Australia so the days were longer. The sun set around 6ish but rose by 4am. So many nights we were asleep by 9 and up by 4 - even working out by 5. We did wake up once in the middle of the night to hop on a work call. Again, it's very strange to be in such a different time zone. We were literally in the future. We'd wake up at 4am and work would still be in the previous day, post-lunch, working hard. It made it both challenging and easy to work. Challenging because you couldn't work 'live' but easy because you could really take time to respond to things - which is not always a luxury we have at work.
There were so many great things about the trip and I really loved Brisbane. It reminded me of Austin - it's a college town, right on water and people are very outdoorsy. So after 2 weeks in Spain with limited green vegetables and English I was ready for the laid back environment of Brisbane. They had veggies (especially avocados!), eat eggs for breakfast, love gluten free options (although they also make their iced coffees into milkshakes), spoke English (even though they of course have their own nuances too) and the weather was amazing.
Devon and I tried to make the most of our limited time there - going on some walks (including a brief nature trail walk, which made Nicole very happy), running (me), Crossfit (Devon), eating at every restaurant in walking distance including an amazing pancake house restored out of an old church, shopping and we even took one day off!
We rented a car and drove up to the Sunshine Coast to check out the beaches. After 2 failed attempts with beaches that were too windy (note: Devon was still finding sand in her backpack weeks later), we found a lovely, beautiful spot. We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing. The water was lovely, too - cold but so clear with no major drop offs.
The most challenging part of the trip for me was driving and walking on the opposite of the road. I quickly got used to it and then found, once I got back to Austin, I had to readjust again.
So not only am I so grateful to have a work place that provides me opportunities to travel to such great places but so grateful that I got to experience this with Devon!
She's returning to Australia this week for some ongoing work and it makes me sad not to go with her. The only thing I'm not jealous of is the 14 hour flight.....
When I first started traveling for work I thought it was pretty exciting. I would often add on some additional time in each new city to get some additional free time. But as the many years of work travel have added up, I do this less and less. Partly because I rarely go to a new city anymore and partly because I'm typically ready to get home and get back into my Austin routine.
But every so often I get to travel to some cool places. Most recently (directly from my honeymoon) I went to Brisbane, Australia. There is an annual international psycho-social oncology conference. I've been to it once before in Vienna, Austria - both because I was accepted as a conference speaker.
Devon also went on this trip for some additional work related projects with some partners in Australia. And I'm super glad she was there - for many reasons!
As previously stated, leaving my honeymoon and re-entering the work world was hard but spending a week in Australia, with Devon, was the best way to re-enter it. Not only did it give me time to check emails and get caught up at my own pace, without people coming to my desk or spending all day in my meetings, it also allowed me to spend time with one of my favorite people!
I hadn't dissected the wedding with anyone yet and, of course, hadn't told anyone about our honeymoon so it was fun to recap this with her. She also caught me up on her life and how work had been. I left the week that the Fall Lance drama hit (USADA report) and it was a tough week at the office. I was thrilled to leave (with a smidge of guilt) but I was glad to get caught up. For those of you who know Devon she is a great story teller so I knew her facts would be thorough and entertaining!
We rented a one bedroom condo for the five days we were there, which was perfect. We shared a room but there was a kitchen and living area so we had plenty of space, which was often needed with our weird jet lagged bodies. It was the start of Summer in Australia so the days were longer. The sun set around 6ish but rose by 4am. So many nights we were asleep by 9 and up by 4 - even working out by 5. We did wake up once in the middle of the night to hop on a work call. Again, it's very strange to be in such a different time zone. We were literally in the future. We'd wake up at 4am and work would still be in the previous day, post-lunch, working hard. It made it both challenging and easy to work. Challenging because you couldn't work 'live' but easy because you could really take time to respond to things - which is not always a luxury we have at work.
There were so many great things about the trip and I really loved Brisbane. It reminded me of Austin - it's a college town, right on water and people are very outdoorsy. So after 2 weeks in Spain with limited green vegetables and English I was ready for the laid back environment of Brisbane. They had veggies (especially avocados!), eat eggs for breakfast, love gluten free options (although they also make their iced coffees into milkshakes), spoke English (even though they of course have their own nuances too) and the weather was amazing.
The most challenging part of the trip for me was driving and walking on the opposite of the road. I quickly got used to it and then found, once I got back to Austin, I had to readjust again.
So not only am I so grateful to have a work place that provides me opportunities to travel to such great places but so grateful that I got to experience this with Devon!
She's returning to Australia this week for some ongoing work and it makes me sad not to go with her. The only thing I'm not jealous of is the 14 hour flight.....
Monday, January 21, 2013
Brace Yourself...
The long awaited (ok, maybe it's just been on my to-do list forever; I realize no one is waiting with baited breath) honeymoon blog is here.
I think these big blogs (wedding, honeymoon, etc.)
are the hardest to write because they will never do the event justice.
And I don't want to bore you all with a laundry list of what we did.
And then I thought about it and as much as this
blog is written for others to feel caught up on my life it's also written for
me to look back on and see, documented, the important steps in my life.
So, here we go....
Thanks to my very smart husband, and knowing that
Hurricane Sandy could impact our connection in NY, he rebooked us the day
before our honeymoon to fly through Minnesota. While it took us longer to get
to Spain - we got there and did not have to deal with weather issues.
Our first 2 nights were spent in Barcelona, where
Carl's family is from and his grandmother, aunt and some cousins still live.
Our very jet lagged selves spent our first afternoon with his
grandmother, who doesn't speak any English. Even if I wasn't jet lagged I
would have found it hard to keep up. I just succombed to nodding eventually and
that seemed ok. The large plate of paella that she fed us, while
delicious, was only inducing a food coma on top of my jet lag.
After forcing ourselves to stay up late, go out to
eat and have some wine (duh) we slept for 12 hours that first night. It
was amazing! Not only that I slept that long but that we could. We had no
agenda, no schedule, no one waiting for us. The day was our oyster!
After our 2 days in Barcelona, we rented a car and
drove north to the Rioja (wine) country. This is the Basque territory,
close to France and the northern coast. We stayed in a small town (of note:
where there was a Marriott) but spent our days driving around the countryside -
going to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, tapas/pincho hopping in San Sebastian
and enjoying many, many wine tastings.
We drove to Madrid for just one night. Due to a
delayed start, a rainy drive and then an even rainier night in Madrid, I can’t
say we experienced much here besides a delicious meal and nice hotel. Maybe next time?
Then we were off, by plane, to the Canary
Islands. Side note, packing for this
trip was hard. We experienced temperatures as cold as 30 and rainy and as warm
as 85 and sunny.
This part of our trip was certainly the most outdoorsy.
We spent the day on a (naked – sorry parents) beach, walked around the town,
hiked down an old volcano and drove around the hillside. There was more history here than I expected,
though, and it was beautiful and a nice change of pace from tapas to
seafood. Even I was growing a bit tired
of bread and cheese. But not wine!
As with most things, I like to take note (and make
lists) of the ways in which Spain had its unique characteristics. Things like:
1. They
serve potato chips as appetizers (their version of chips and salsa?)
2. They eat
tuna (as in cold tuna fish out of a can) on their salads. Gross.
3. Their
salads also only consist of ice berg lettuce, the aforementioned tuna, raw
onions and tomatoes. Double gross.
4. It is
clear why they are going bankrupt – they are very inefficient and have lines
everywhere with no one actually available to help you. Most likely because they
are on a break somewhere.
5. They are
very polite and kind, which is a great thing but also means no one uses their
horn. Not ideal when driving in a city
like Madrid.
But there were many things I loved about the trip as well. Too many to
name. Of course spending that much time
with Carl, post-wedding, not thinking about work and not having access to email
were the highlights. And while I loved being with Carl so much and we got along
great, you do run out of things to talk about. Thank goodness we brought our
iPad. We played tons of trivial pursuit and monopoly and watched movies when we
could stream.
So thanks for your patience while I wrote this blog (and in reading
it). I know I’ll never experience a trip
like this, again, so I’m happy to know I can reflect back on the pictures and
words I used to describe it.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
New Year, New Goals
I just read my friend Haley's blog who posted on her goals for the year and I felt inspired to post about mine.
For the past 5 years some friends and I have held each other accountable to our goals. We document them at the beginning of the year and then have monthly lunches where we check in with each other.
It's not meant to be punitive if we don't reach out goals. But if and when we do reach them we get everything from a round of applause to colored star stickers. We are easily pleased!
This year some of my goals focus on simplicity. Last year felt like such a hectic year, from the start, that I'd like this year to be about minimizing some things in my life (some things...I'm not going to suddenly stop shopping. That's just crazy pants - for me).
So I found a few things on pinterest and got help from Devon who focused on decluttering her house last year and am working on removing the physical and emotional clutter from my life.
In addition to some of these ambitious goals I'm also working on the following:
Flossing more
Accessorizing more
Picking a marathon to run in 2014
Planning my work sabbatical
Taking advantage of the free yoga and pilates at work
Going to visit Katie and Rob
And more....
This week, while the second week of January, really seems like the first full week of the year. Carl is back on the road for work and I am working 5 full days in a row. I have been known to over commit my free time but this week I had zero plans after work besides running and pilates. So I have been home every night and it's been lovely. I've gotten caught up on small projects around the house (i.e. an ever-growing ironing pile, some thank you notes, working on planning Jess's baby shower) and I've gotten to bed early and just enjoyed not feeling frenzied or rushed in the evenings.
So while I know weeks like this are rare I'm really appreciating it!
For the past 5 years some friends and I have held each other accountable to our goals. We document them at the beginning of the year and then have monthly lunches where we check in with each other.
It's not meant to be punitive if we don't reach out goals. But if and when we do reach them we get everything from a round of applause to colored star stickers. We are easily pleased!
This year some of my goals focus on simplicity. Last year felt like such a hectic year, from the start, that I'd like this year to be about minimizing some things in my life (some things...I'm not going to suddenly stop shopping. That's just crazy pants - for me).
So I found a few things on pinterest and got help from Devon who focused on decluttering her house last year and am working on removing the physical and emotional clutter from my life.
In addition to some of these ambitious goals I'm also working on the following:
Flossing more
Accessorizing more
Picking a marathon to run in 2014
Planning my work sabbatical
Taking advantage of the free yoga and pilates at work
Going to visit Katie and Rob
And more....
This week, while the second week of January, really seems like the first full week of the year. Carl is back on the road for work and I am working 5 full days in a row. I have been known to over commit my free time but this week I had zero plans after work besides running and pilates. So I have been home every night and it's been lovely. I've gotten caught up on small projects around the house (i.e. an ever-growing ironing pile, some thank you notes, working on planning Jess's baby shower) and I've gotten to bed early and just enjoyed not feeling frenzied or rushed in the evenings.
So while I know weeks like this are rare I'm really appreciating it!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sileo/Stewart/Sherman Family Christmas
This year, for Christmas, Carl and I traveled to my hometown for an 8 day Sileo/Stewart/Sherman family adventure. The decision to travel to DC was a joint one with Chris, Missy, Lucie and Audrey. The only downside is that we can't all stay with my dad so we decided to rent a house for the first part of our trip.
We arrived to DC on a Friday evening, got settled into the house and made some dinner. The wine drinking began as did a few of us getting sick. I had a cold before I left town and it just got way worse. It didn't stop us from trying to make the most of our time, though. For the 4 days we were in DC, we went to Natural History Museum, both Air & Space Museums, the Zoo, had friends over for drinks one night and went out to dinner, just Carl and I, one night. In between all of this, we cooked some pretty great meals, watched a lot of Disney and holiday movies and even managed to go for a chilly run one morning.
From there we drove to my mom's, about 2 hours away, for the next part of our trip. Lucie and Audrey were champs during this entire trip, quickly getting accustomed to things they don't normally have to deal with - like sharing rooms, stairs and snow.
While my mom doesn't have museums we made the most of being indoors at the local library, bowling (which I've quickly discovered I'd like to do more often), painting nails and watching more movies.
My parents were both good sports for having us with them over the holidays and we had a lot of fun. I'm glad we go to see snow and Carl got to spend more time with my family and friends. I know it's his obligation as my husband to spend time with my family but he really went above and beyond spending 8 days with them. I love them but I know that it's not easy to spend 8 days with family that isn't yours.
I'm really happy to be home and to have a few days off before going back to work though and, of course, snuggling with Buster, who I missed terribly.
In the pictures of Lucie and Audrey below you'll notice they are often wearing their matching princess nightgowns that I got them for Christmas. They were clearly a big hit!
And, yes, I know that I'm still behind on blog posts - particularly our honeymoon and my trip to Australia. I'm really hoping that 2013 is a bit less hectic than 2012 felt and I can enjoy more downtime.
We arrived to DC on a Friday evening, got settled into the house and made some dinner. The wine drinking began as did a few of us getting sick. I had a cold before I left town and it just got way worse. It didn't stop us from trying to make the most of our time, though. For the 4 days we were in DC, we went to Natural History Museum, both Air & Space Museums, the Zoo, had friends over for drinks one night and went out to dinner, just Carl and I, one night. In between all of this, we cooked some pretty great meals, watched a lot of Disney and holiday movies and even managed to go for a chilly run one morning.
From there we drove to my mom's, about 2 hours away, for the next part of our trip. Lucie and Audrey were champs during this entire trip, quickly getting accustomed to things they don't normally have to deal with - like sharing rooms, stairs and snow.
While my mom doesn't have museums we made the most of being indoors at the local library, bowling (which I've quickly discovered I'd like to do more often), painting nails and watching more movies.
My parents were both good sports for having us with them over the holidays and we had a lot of fun. I'm glad we go to see snow and Carl got to spend more time with my family and friends. I know it's his obligation as my husband to spend time with my family but he really went above and beyond spending 8 days with them. I love them but I know that it's not easy to spend 8 days with family that isn't yours.
I'm really happy to be home and to have a few days off before going back to work though and, of course, snuggling with Buster, who I missed terribly.
In the pictures of Lucie and Audrey below you'll notice they are often wearing their matching princess nightgowns that I got them for Christmas. They were clearly a big hit!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Always a Bridesmaid....
Finally a bride! This is a direct quote from my friend, Leslie, who officiated our wedding. And she was right. I had been a bridesmaid 12 times before getting married. This is one of the many reasons I decided not to have bridesmaids. But I digress.....
The day had arrived. Our wedding day. And I'm pretty sure I've thought about it every day, multiple times each day, since then. It wasn't just that I was finally getting married (yes, even my loving brother's speech had undertones of relief) it was that I was marrying Carl.
As much as I've thought about the wedding, I've thought about this post. This feels like the most important blog post of my life for some reason. And the pressure I've been putting on myself to make it amazing has caused me to freeze up and not know where to start.
So I'll do my best.
I've always heard married women say that their wedding day was the best day of their life. I secretly thought, 'really? the best day?" How can one day be that great? What about all the other things one accomplishes in their lifetime? Was marriage really better than graduation or getting your first job? It was just really hard for me to imagine how this one day could be so great.
Turns out, they were right. In fact many of my married friends were right about a lot of things, including:
1. You really and truly don't feel nervous when you're walking down that aisle.
2. No one will ever know the things that went wrong. Even if you're obsessing about them.
3. The day goes by way too fast.
4. You won't eat.
And other things....
But most of all, they were right, it was the best day of my life. How could it not be when I think about it now? Almost everyone I love gathered in one place to support Carl and me in taking the next step in our lives together.
Sure, some things weren't ideal. A cold front moved in - so we got heaters. One of our buses was at the wrong hotel and picked up guests 45 minutes late - so we got a delayed start. Carl's grandmother fell. This was perhaps the worst part of our wedding. But she's recovered from her hip replacement surgery and doing well.
But so much went right. Even though I'm a huge fan of lists (see above) I don't think a list can hold up to this day. A day that truly was the best day of my life. But I'll try anyway. Some of my favorite things from our wedding:
1. Our ceremony - more perfect than I could have ever imagined
2. Carl's vows - he totally upstaged me
3. Buster and his ring bearing duties
4. Peeing, half naked outside the airstream
5. Peeing, with friends holding up my dress, in the port-o-potty (clearly peeing makes me giggle)
6. The Hora dance
7. Carl's back flip
See, the list just doesn't do it any justice. But it was worth a shot.
So for all of you who warned me about how fast the day would go and how I'd hardly talk to anyone but the night would fly by - I get it now.
I'm still awaiting our final wedding pictures from Natalie and most of you have seen the ones on Facebook so I thought I'd share some behind the scenes ones from getting ready that day. The first Devon took of me on our morning stroll before the day got started. The second is of Jess and me awaiting hair and makeup and the last one really captures the ceremony to me - silly and loving. This was us trying to get Buster to bring the rings to us. He thought it was a game and went running up and down the aisle.
The day had arrived. Our wedding day. And I'm pretty sure I've thought about it every day, multiple times each day, since then. It wasn't just that I was finally getting married (yes, even my loving brother's speech had undertones of relief) it was that I was marrying Carl.
As much as I've thought about the wedding, I've thought about this post. This feels like the most important blog post of my life for some reason. And the pressure I've been putting on myself to make it amazing has caused me to freeze up and not know where to start.
So I'll do my best.
I've always heard married women say that their wedding day was the best day of their life. I secretly thought, 'really? the best day?" How can one day be that great? What about all the other things one accomplishes in their lifetime? Was marriage really better than graduation or getting your first job? It was just really hard for me to imagine how this one day could be so great.
Turns out, they were right. In fact many of my married friends were right about a lot of things, including:
1. You really and truly don't feel nervous when you're walking down that aisle.
2. No one will ever know the things that went wrong. Even if you're obsessing about them.
3. The day goes by way too fast.
4. You won't eat.
And other things....
But most of all, they were right, it was the best day of my life. How could it not be when I think about it now? Almost everyone I love gathered in one place to support Carl and me in taking the next step in our lives together.
Sure, some things weren't ideal. A cold front moved in - so we got heaters. One of our buses was at the wrong hotel and picked up guests 45 minutes late - so we got a delayed start. Carl's grandmother fell. This was perhaps the worst part of our wedding. But she's recovered from her hip replacement surgery and doing well.
But so much went right. Even though I'm a huge fan of lists (see above) I don't think a list can hold up to this day. A day that truly was the best day of my life. But I'll try anyway. Some of my favorite things from our wedding:
1. Our ceremony - more perfect than I could have ever imagined
2. Carl's vows - he totally upstaged me
3. Buster and his ring bearing duties
4. Peeing, half naked outside the airstream
5. Peeing, with friends holding up my dress, in the port-o-potty (clearly peeing makes me giggle)
6. The Hora dance
7. Carl's back flip
See, the list just doesn't do it any justice. But it was worth a shot.
So for all of you who warned me about how fast the day would go and how I'd hardly talk to anyone but the night would fly by - I get it now.
I'm still awaiting our final wedding pictures from Natalie and most of you have seen the ones on Facebook so I thought I'd share some behind the scenes ones from getting ready that day. The first Devon took of me on our morning stroll before the day got started. The second is of Jess and me awaiting hair and makeup and the last one really captures the ceremony to me - silly and loving. This was us trying to get Buster to bring the rings to us. He thought it was a game and went running up and down the aisle.
And, finally, because I truly feel like the wedding wouldn't have been as special to me without all the love and support I felt, I want to thank my friends and family. Those of you who stepped up (repeatedly) to help me brainstorm, plan, order, research, shop, organize, review, rationalize, indulge and celebrate with and for me, thank you. I was already pretty lucky before I met Carl. Now I feel even luckier.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
What's In A Name?
Well, today it become official (at least to the U.S. Government). I am legally Melissa Sileo Stewart (not hyphenated - Sileo is just my middle name now). Goodbye Ann. Hello Sileo. And Stewart.
I know that I have so much to blog about and I think I need to pace myself but I wanted to post a link to a sneak peak of photos from the wedding that Natalie sent to me.
Suffice it to say our wedding day (and the entire weekend) was amazing. I can't think of how it could have been better. I keep reflecting on it, trying to hold onto all of the memories.
So take a look at the pictures and I'll be back....
http://www.hazeled.com/blog/
I know that I have so much to blog about and I think I need to pace myself but I wanted to post a link to a sneak peak of photos from the wedding that Natalie sent to me.
Suffice it to say our wedding day (and the entire weekend) was amazing. I can't think of how it could have been better. I keep reflecting on it, trying to hold onto all of the memories.
So take a look at the pictures and I'll be back....
http://www.hazeled.com/blog/
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