Past Few Weekends

So I don't have any pictures to post, but I figured I'd add an update with my recent adventures.

Weekend of 2/25
After my 2 weeks in Seattle, I got to spend a weekend in St Louis finally! Steph came out to visit, but the weather was cold and rainy, so we didn't get to explore the city too much. After a weekend that was entirely too short, Steph jumped on a plane and headed back to CT Sunday afternoon. Little did we know that her connection through Newark would result in her getting stuck in a snow storm and delayed indefinitely! At 11:00 at night we all scrambled around trying to find her an alternate way to get home. We eventually found her a car service, and she got into CT in the early hours of Monday morning.

Week of 2/28
I had another workshop to run this week, but luckily it was in St Louis for a change. It was really nice to get the chance to spend a week in my apartment. After all, I'd had it for 5 weeks now and only spent a total of about 5 night there! Of course this was my first taste of living alone during the week, and I actually had to grocery shop and cook (Ugh). Who knew I depended on Steph so much to take care of me (besides her of course).

Weekend of 3/2
I was excited to get home and enjoy some time with Steph, and things were getting even better when I went standby on the early flight and got into CT Friday around 3pm. Once I got home and kicked up my feet, I talked to Steph and found out that Jeanna and Adam were at the Hospital having their new baby!! We ate some dinner and waited around for the call, and sure enough around 9:30 they told us that we had a new niece. Of course, we quickly got into the car and headed down to meet her. Meredith was just as beautiful as her big sister, and we spent a little time with her before heading home for the night.

On Saturday Steph and I split up for a while, and I got a chance to hang out with Adam and see their new house (and mis-direct the movers to all of the wrong rooms - not like they listened anyway). The house is great, and the move went smoothly, so we were feeling pretty good come afternoon. Steph spent the day shopping with Grace, and then the four of us all met up at the Hospital in the afternoon. Grace was ecstatic to see her new little sister, and Steph and I enjoyed the chance to spend some time with the growing Doherty family. It was an early night, and I unfortunately had to get up early the next day to head out.

Sunday morning, I had to pack up my stuff and head back to the airport for my long, cross-country flight. I got into Orange County airport, just south of LA, late Sunday evening, and it was back to the daily grind come Monday morning with another new workshop class in attendance.

Week of 3/5
The weather was gorgeous out in Seal Beach, even though I was spending my days in a stuffy conference room. We went out at nights, and it was great to wear short-sleeves and walk along the beach without being chilly. The workshop team and I got to enjoy some fantastic dinners, including "Sparks" grill on the ocean and the Brazilian all-you-can-eat Steakhouse (yes, I did predictable eat way too much).

The workshop went really well, and I was feeling good about the week when I headed for home on Friday afternoon. I had long anticipated my trip home, as the coach section of the flight had been sold out, and I had been forced to book first class (I know, rough life). It was the first time that I ever flew first class, and what a difference! I thought it was a joke when the stewardess brought me out warm nuts and fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Of course, I was even more impressed by the fact that Dennis Rodman was sitting in the seat behind me!

The trip home got even better when I ran into a co-worker at the Dallas airport during my layover. I switched seats with the guy sitting next to him, and we got a chance to catch up during the flight back (over a full dinner and dessert complete with wine and coffee!).

Weekend of 3/9
My Friday was shot when I landed at midnight and got home just after 12:30. Steph was a good sport and came to pick me up at the airport, so I got to avoid the 30 minute taxi ride. Saturday morning we slept in for the first time in a long time, and once we got up we headed into New Haven to meet Matt and Francesca at the train station. We stopped off at the Glenwood and got lobster rolls and hot dogs, picked Matt and Francesca up, and headed over to Steph's Grandparent's house for the day. The ladies went shopping, and the guys lounged around and watched sports all day (very tedious). It was nice to get to catch up with everybody, and the Italian pastry didn't hurt either!

Sunday was the first weekend-day in a long time that I didn't have to travel, so it felt nice to spend the day at home. with my flight back to St Louis scheduled for Monday morning, Steph and I got to spend the day just relaxing and catching up on things around the house.

Week of 3/12
This week represented my last workshop (Woo Hoo), so I was pretty excited to get though it and move on. The work will be very similar going forward, but it will be much more one-on-one than me in the front of a room with 20 participants asking me for guidance (Mystery solved - I wouldn't like teaching). The workshop was a success, and the participants took Tim (my co-facilitator) and me out for drinks on Thursday night. After a night of one too any drinks, I skipped the office and dragged myself directly to the airport Friday morning in anticipation of my 11:30 flight. It was a blast sitting around, watching my flight get delayed, wondering if I'd ever make it home....

Around 12:30 the flight finally got canceled, and I hopped in a cab and headed back to my apartment. Due to the weather, all of the flights heading back to the Northeast were canceled, so my chances of getting home were nil. Normally, I wouldn't have minded, but Steph's dad was in town, Matt and Francesca were planning on coming up, Jeanna and Adam were going to have everyone over to spend some time with Grace and Meredith, and there was a typical Johnson-style family gathering planned for West Haven on Friday night (who would pass up on that?).

The one good part of getting stuck in St Louis for the weekend was getting some much needed R&R. I even got out and found a Gym to join near my apartment.