Life in Calvert County

First, let me apologize for my lack of blogging. The past few months have been crazy with moving and such, but now that I’m firmly settled into what I will be calling “home” from this point forward – I guess I need to step up my game, at least with keeping up on my blog.

Life in Calvert County is nice. It’s quiet and it’s a bit slow; what I would call a happy medium between St. Mary’s 7th District, and Baltimore Cities Federal Hill. All in all, I am loving the new house, loving living with Matt, and moreover absolutely in love with the natural beauties that are found right in my back yard. (not literally, but close enough!)

Now let me preface my next statement with – I love working at ADA. But (yes, there is always a but) sometimes things can get a bit overwhelming, and after what I would call – being on the verge of a freak out- Wednesday, I decided it was a good idea to take a personal day. So I came home Wednesday night very chipper that I could sleep past 5:45am on a weekday, woohoo!

Wednesday night Matt and I went in search of a public beach near our house. I have been aimlessly driving around for weeks, with little to no luck in finding any sort of “public” recreational area for lounging. Surrounded by water…literally we are nestled right between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay, it would be logical that a public beachy area would be easy to find. Not so much. After another failed attempt at searching for the beach, I was slightly disheartened. Non the less, after a great night sleep, we headed out again to search for the sand.

After finding 2 other small beaches, Matt, Ginger and I stumbled across Flag Pond Park. We had to pay to get into the park, and then walk to the beach…but after so many failures, we figured, hey what’s one more walk? After a leisurely walk for about ¾ of a mile we came to the clearing on the beach, and WOW was about all I could say. The beach I have so anxiously awaiting to find, has finally revealed itself.






I can’t take credit for these photos, however this is exactly what I saw when I came through the clearing. It was most certainly worth the wait. In fact, we almost immediately went home and got our swim suites, and the three of us spent the day lounging on the beach. (Ginger was a little confused & didn’t love that we tried to make her swim – maybe next time she will be a little more brave when it comes to the water)

Anyone who knows me knows I love the beach. And somehow, I think Calvert County just won my heart.

Spring has Sprung

Spring is finally here (although I heard something about flurries on the radio this morning…) and I can’t believe how refreshing it is to just be outside. Maybe this Winter felt exceptionally long – 3 major snow storms can give just about anyone cabin fever if you ask me – but I know when the first signs of Spring started appearing a few weeks ago, it was like I turned into a totally new person! Daylight savings time came early this year, but if you ask me, it couldn’t have gotten here fast enough. Now that it’s actually light out when I get home from work, I feel like I have my life back. I am motivated to exercise, run errands, and just generally stay awake past 8pm. I feel like I have been more productive in the past 2 weeks, with my home life, then I have in months!

With the new beginning of Spring, comes new beginnings for Matt and me. We have our pre-settlement walk-thru on our house today, and we move in permanently on Wednesday. I can’t believe that Matt is actually buying his first house! I know I have been there every step of the way, and I have helped with just about everything, but when it comes down to it, Matt is the one signing the papers, and I am so proud of him. Most people our age aren’t even thinking about buying homes, and he has really made my dream become a reality.

There are so many things to be excited about with this new house of ours, so maybe highlighting the most important things is the best route to go:
- Matt and I can have time together
- Ginger will no longer bother her aunty Kirby
- I will have my own Walk-In closet
- Our commutes to and from work are going to be much shorter!!!
- The HUGE bathtub

We are planning a house warming part-tay; details to come.

Shopping Attempt - Fail

So the contract on the townhouse has been ratified and accepted and so now should be the fun part – shopping for house ‘stuff’. Mom and I went out this weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) with intent of purchase. After about 8-10 hours of shopping split between two days, I returned home defeated, only purchasing a small shelving unit and a spaghetti strainer.
As I trucked up to Bel Air on Friday night, traffic was a nightmare and it took Ginger and me about 3 hours, I anxiously awaited the weekend ahead. Mom and I had a list of stores that filled an entire 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper that we were going to go to. Everything from Target and Bed Bath and Beyond, to Goodwill and antique flee markets. Now I know that sometimes these type of stores are hit or miss, but really? How is it possible for all 12 of them to be a miss?! We strolled thru shop after shop, and I eagerly awaited something to ‘pop’ out at me. You know that feeling when you see the perfect dress, and you think “this is it!” Well that is what I was waiting for, on just about any and all house stuff…and all I got was a strainer.
Although slightly disappointed, I came home knowing that the stuff that is meant for my house will come eventually. So if anyone is getting rid of any household goodies, don’t call the truck before checking in with me! So far, the best treasures I have gotten have been from other peoples garages!

Business Travel

So this past weekend, I went on my first business trip. My travels took me across the continental US to the lovely state of California, San Francisco to be precise. To be quite honest, I wasn't that excited about the trip. First of all, it meant I wasn't going to be having a weekend, and secondly the 'biggest snow storm to ever hit MD' was occurring within hours of my departure. Being the worry wort that I am, I was a bit nervous about traveling in the big snow, and even more nervous about being stuck in San Francisco. Despite my worries, I made the trek to the airport at 2 a.m. on Friday morning, and after several mishaps (to avoid whining I'll just leave it at that) made it San Francisco at 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. in Baltimore)

The trip was a big success! The 57th Annual Postgraduate Course, the conference I have been working on since I started at ADA, went off with flying colors and raving reviews, and I loved San Francisco! I can't wait to go back! The city was gorgeous, the people were nice, and the weather was a perfect 60 degrees. Coming from the 25 degrees in MD, it felt like a taste of Spring...which was just enough to put a little pep in my step.

I spent Saturday night out on the town with ADA's newest intern, Cassie. We had dinner at a cute little place down in Fisherman's Wharf, had Irish Coffee at the famous Buena Vista Cafe, and rode the Cable Cars up to the top of the hill. All in all, it was a great time and we did some fabulous sight seeing!

After several problematic phone calls with the airlines (mostly non-weather related) I finally made it back to MD on Tuesday around 2 a.m. (again to avoid whining, I'll leave it at that)

Although I was very unhappy about missing the big snow, I think in retrospect I'm glad I wasn't here. The latest and greatest 'blizzard of 2010, round 2' has got me stuck inside with cabin fever and longing for Spring time. Not to mention the heaping piles of snow just waiting to be shoveled.

The "Weekend"

As I have now moved from the full time occupation: Student, to the full time occupation: Specialist, Sci-Med & Professional Education, I am started to learn that ‘weekend’ has an entirely new meaning. Prior to entering the workforce, to me, weekend was a time of relaxation and fun. Friday night (well in all reality Thursday night) meant it was time to let loose and have some fun! Although this is still sometimes the case, I am finding that I am now looking at the weekend in a more literal sense, meaning the work week is over, and now it is time to do all that stuff I was way too tired to get accomplished during the week. Things like laundry, groceries, general chores and visiting family/friends. Not to minimize family and friends into the category of necessary obligations, but simply to justify that making time for people outside of the immediate living situation can sometimes be difficult when working a ‘9-5’ job.

I had a chance to catch up with some old friends this weekend. It was really nice to chat, fill in the ‘what’s new’ which in my case is just about everything, and to just enjoy some FANTASTIC Baltimore football. However during our ‘what’s new’ conversation, I made a comment about how the ‘9-5’ job wasn’t as fantastic as I thought it would be, as far as having time to do other things was concerned. When I said this, my friend (who has been in the work-force a bit longer then I have) chuckled and quickly corrected me with “oh you mean 7-6:30 job”

Somehow, I feel like the reality of the work day, is that even if you are supposed to work 8 hours, or 8.5 for me ( 1 hour lunch included) it really never ends up being that way. For some, like my dear friend who just recently became a CPA for a major accounting firm, 9-5 some how equates to a depressed text message at 8:30pm Saturday night that reads “just finished my 70 hour work week, FML” For others like myself, it means working the allotted 8 hours, and assuming there is no extra work that needs completion, driving the grueling 60-90 minutes home thru traffic. Add 60-90 minutes each way to work, and somehow 8 hours turns into almost 11.

All that being said, I’m finding it really hard to balance work / family / friends. This weekend I went home to visit with my family. It was so nice to just be able to relax and know that someone would take care of me. I spent the majority of the weekend camped out on the couch watching re-runs of Law and Order with my mom. I did have lunch with a girlfriend and her adorable daughter, breakfast with a lovely journalist friend, and like I said, watched some great football with some old friends, but somehow I feel like the weekend was slow. Slow in the sense that I didn’t get anything accomplished. I didn’t do laundry, I didn’t go grocery shopping and Ginger didn’t get the bath she needed - - but honestly I don’t really care. Maybe my weekend wasn’t the ‘let loose and have fun’ weekend that it used to be, but it was full of familiar faces and down time, and I think that was exactly what I needed!

On House Hunting

So Matt and I have started ‘house hunting.’ With my new job in Alexandria, VA I was left with no choice but to uproot from the comfort of Northern MD, and head south. Lucky for me, my lovely boyfriend happens to already live in Southern MD so my new destination has been St. Clements Island. St. Clements Island is a very nice, southern area. It has big rolling fields (farmed in the summer time, but fairly desolate right now) and a beautiful water view. Unfortunately, it is a bit of a hike from Alexandria, so Matt and I started the long process of house hunting.

Being a first time home buyer, there is a great advantage to purchasing a home prior to the end of April 2010… and by great advantage, I mean an $8000 tax credit. That being said, we decided it would be very beneficial if we got our tails in gear and started seriously moving on the house project.

Part of being a first time home buyer means that you have NO idea what you’re getting into. Lucky for us, Matt’s parents have a good friend, and real estate agent, who is taking great care of us each step of the way. We started working with him (better not to list his name) sometime in Mid-December. Between then and now, Matt and I have learned that we aren’t going to get our dream home, but if we get lucky, we will get something that meets our needs (and some of our wants!)

Our main goals are to find a home somewhere that is reasonable for both our work schedules – We decided on Prince Frederick, MD. It’s going to be about 50 miles for me and about 20 -30 miles for Matt. Ideally we would find some where right in the middle, but as we quickly learned, pricing for homes is based A LOT on location. We are also looking for something that doesn’t need an extreme amount of work…neither one of us have the time or cash right now to be working on a ‘project’ home. And last but not least we are looking for a house that will be do-able with our furry friend. Ginger needs a lot of space, and we would really like to be able to give it to her. Obviously we won’t give up a great home because the back yard is not huge…but if all goes as planned we are hoping to get something with a nice backyard.

Maybe I’m not going to be moving into my dream home- you know, walk in closets, full cathedral ceilings, a grand foyer, wrap around porch, yadeyadeya… but I couldn’t be happier that Matt, Ginger and I are going to be finding a place to call home!

2009…It’s Been Quite a Year…

As I sit and reflect on another year past, it seems that this year has been quite extraordinary compared to the last few.

As many of my close friends know, my college years were quite hectic, absurd if you will. They were filled with a series of bad choices, heartache, disappointment, and of course a little bit of learning. However, when I sit and think about 2009 I really can say I closed out my time at Towson University with a bang, made some great friends, made some really touch choices, but all in all, had what I might consider one of the best years of my life so far.

Now I know that if you sit and try and think about negative things that have happened it is easy to be overwhelmed, but Matt has me trying this new tactic where I only focus on the positive things in my life… and so here is my recap of 2009 highlights: all the positive, amazing things that are happening in my life.

Decided to fly to LA to spend time with a guy (Matt) that I had only met a handful of times: turned out to be a wonderful life changing decision.

Went on a cruise with Matt and friends: What a fantastic vacation that turned out to be! Some fun in the sun during the cold winter months can really turn around those winter blues.

Graduated from Towson University: What a relief it was to finally be done with college! (Even tho I miss it sometimes now – who’da thunk!?)

Went on a phenomenal road trip with Christine and Monkey: Traveling in the USA wasn’t exactly my idea of a great Graduation Trip, however after spending time with Christine all over the south, I can’t think of any other way I would have rather done it. We saw so many different places, sat on the beach, did touristy activities, drank and partied in New Orleans… spent time with great friends, doesn’t get better then that!

Temped at the Baltimore American Diabetes Association: During my time at ADA Baltimore I was a temp for the Step Out Walk. I loved working with the non-profit organization and working with the Baltimore community to come together to try and stop diabetes.

Moved down to Federal Hill with Tasha, Christine Marks, and Laura: Now I know I don’t love living in the city, and it wasn’t my favorite thing… but I loved my roomies and I’m so glad I had the chance to spend time with them. I also learned that city living is not for me, and its out of my system – and now I know I want to be out in the country… lesson learned.

Said goodbye to my best friend: There is some quote from Sex and The City about how maybe it is your girlfriends who can be your soul mates… and in my case, Christine and I are most definitely destined to be best friends forever. As our 17th anniversary came and went this fall, I realized that no matter where she is, or how long we’re apart, it doesn’t matter. As soon as we are together again, its like no time has passed. This summer she made the choice to go to Denmark for graduate school and although I miss her, I’m so proud of her for being able to go so far away from her friends and family to pursue her dreams. Ps. Between the two of us, we know everything!

Took a terrible job at a mortgage company: The job was answering phones and cleaning out the fridge…oh and watering the plants. Again, lesson learned. I don’t ever want to be a secretary, and furthermore my telephone demeanor after 85 calls in 3 hours is just not good.

Got a job at the ADA home office: The job I took with American Diabetes Association is in the home office as part of the Sci-Med Professional Education Department. Now I know this isn’t what I went to school for, and wasn’t what I thought I would be doing… but turns out I really enjoy it and I’m finding that the more I learn about the different aspects of Non-Profit, the more I know this is where I want to continue my career.

Had to move…again: So taking the job in Alexandria, VA meant that I couldn’t really keep living in Balitmore City. So, my amazing boyfriend and his gracious family have allowed me to move in with them. It has been hard being away from my family and friends at home, but now I’m living with Matt and things are really starting to come together. Currently, Matt and I are looking for our own house to settle down in.

Adopted Ginger: Ginger came quite unexpectedly to Matt and me. We knew we wanted a dog once we moved… I’m not too keen on sleeping totally alone in a house… so we decided we would just ‘look’ at the Harford County Humane Society. Word to the Wise: don’t go there if you’re planning on getting a pup in the future, because odds are you will fall in love with one and that’s all she wrote. Ginger (Gingerbread at the time) practically chose us, and with a fated name like Ginger (Matt being a red head) how could we say no? So now Matt and I are the proud parents of a Blue Tick Coonhound. She is loving and sweet and howls like no other – she really makes us happy.

Spent the holiday with some great family and friends: Now anyone who has been at my house over the holidays the past few years knows that I haven’t always been the most cheerful, but this year I couldn’t have been happier. I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family and Matt and even Christine made it home from across the pond. It really has been the season to be jolly…

Oh and I had swine flu... nothing positive about that, haha.

So I guess that about wraps it up… there have been so many more amazing things going on and I’m sure I could go on forever, but 2009 is quickly coming to an end.. and I can’t wait to see all the great things that 2010 will have to offer!

Happy New Year!