Here & Now

Friday's Good Things

• Free cupcakes from the cupcake shop down the street (it could be a good thing just that there is a cupcake shop down the street - let alone that it is a friendly one!)
• Free cleaning of my bathroom, after a sewage backup this morning (that was not a good thing)
• First class upgrade for tomorrow's flight to Mexico
• Feeling prepared for vacation - love that feeling

Story People

I sign up for a lot of email lists.  If there is the promise of a coupon, good information and/or inspiration, I'll give out my made-for-such-a-purpose email address.  

That being said, I read about 2% of what I get.  Most days, the emails look like junk, so I discard them before I open them (even though I thought healthy recipes would be a good idea on a daily basis).  There is one list that I am on, though, that I look forward to receiving the message everyday.  Storypeople.com sends a message every single day and I have received the emails for at least a year -- day in and day out.  The messages are always different, but each one captures some fragment of life in a captivating and inspirational way.  

Today was one of those days when I was prompted to save the message in my "save for inspiration" folder, for it hit home.  Even though I read Story People's message every day - it is ones like this that keep me opening up the emails each morning.

They left me   
with your shadow, 
saying things like 
Life is not fair 

& I believed them 
for a long time. 

But today, 
I remembered 
the way you laughed 
& the heat 
of your hand 
in mine 

& I knew that 
life is more fair 
than we can 
ever imagine 
if 
we are there to live it

Right Now

It is 10.54am on Sunday, February 22, 2009.  I just received an email from Sue Ertel, where she wrote a few notes about happenings around their house this morning (such as John and Bob still sleeping - of course!).  The email was so perfect right now -- while I am not in Minnesota any longer and cannot participate in various things, it is little snippets of the everyday that help me still feel connected and a part of life, even way down here in the South.  Her email brought me right into the moment (thank you, Sue!).  I hope to experience this same feeling when I join my sister's 19th birthday celebration tonight via iChat.

Here's a snapshot of my "right now":

I'm scrapbooking just a bit - doing some journaling, digging around in my patterned papers.

Henry, Christian and Erin's dog who I am sitting this weekend, is at my feet chewing on a toy.

The washer and dryer are loud from the kitchen.

The flowers my dad sent for Valentine's Day are still looking fresh on my coffee table.

I am researching eye cream for black circles.

It is only 32 degrees here this morning, but the sun is sneaking through the blinds.

Two suitcases are consuming my bedroom floor, as I pack for Cozumel - less than a week to go!

A few more Savannah Photos

This post accomplishes two things: sharing a few more photos of Savannah and Tybee Island AND I finally learned how to appropriately find photos on my Mac to load them onto websites and such - yay!

To Date.

I walked home from the gym tonight in a t-shirt.  The February air was a balmy 60-some degrees.  This is what I love about Atlanta.

I went to the bank tonight. The bank had already closed: 4pm its sign read.  I drove 1 mile to the next bank and it took 10 minutes.  Similarily, the apartment is 2.6 miles from work.  The drive is 15 minutes.  It is inefficient to get anywhere in this city.  This is what I hate about Atlanta.

Room-by-Room: The Office Part II

The hands-down best part of the office hides beneath the wide curtains at the end of the room; here sits my scrapbooking space.  With a few ideas from Kim, unplanned inheritance of some organizational supplies and a good dose of the label maker, this has become a practical and inspiring corner of the apartment.  

Room-By-Room: The Office

The second bedroom in this apartment has become the office.  This is a great space to have, and I love how the room has come together so far.

Savannah Style

During John's first weekend visit to Atlanta since the move, we headed to Savannah, to visit the oldest city in Georgia. We fell in love; here on the coast is a city with a little bit of a million places, pieces of it feeling like Florida, others like the tropics and more yet like Europe, forming one unique and charming locale.  We especially loved wondering the squares and visiting Tybee Island.

A Moment

I am sitting with my feet up in the quiet space of the Delta Crown Room in Atlanta's E Concourse.  It's past 9pm, and I'm in the international terminal, and I cannot believe how calm this space feels.  I can actually hear - in the middle of the airport - the whirl of white noise coming from the vents.  I have just arrived from Miami, and I am waiting for John's arrival at 10.30.  I have a zillion work things to do in preparation for a day off tomorrow and yet, I am totally at peace.  My brain is calming down.  I think I am partly glad not to be alone at home, but also glad to have a little break of being social, after a week full of meetings.  A nice way to end the work week.

One Month Down

They say time flies when you are having fun -- well, I must be having a lot of fun then, lately, because I absolutely cannot believe that I have been a resident of Atlanta for one month, as of today.  What a month it has been … unpacking and settling into the apartment, having my first visitors, saying good-bye to friends and family, getting back on the wagon, working in a new office, exploring areas of the city, and traveling here and there, too.  It has been a rollercoaster ride, and frankly, I'm glad to have it under my belt. One month both closes up the past and leads to the future, both of which I am grateful for.  The worry of the move is now off my shoulders, and at the same time, this milestone brings me closer to having John here, to more visitors coming and to knowing this city more intimately.  It is a happy one-month anniversary.