Hangin in a hammock

My grandparents had an awesome hammock between two huge trees when I was a kid. Since then I always wanted to have my own hammock to enjoy.

Armed with that 411, when we bought our house Rob surprised me with a hammock of my own. Since we live in a townhouse the one he got is perfect since it pops open and you can fold it back up very easily (well it's easy for Rob). So yesterday - while Rob was waxing his car - we cracked it out and Buster and I curled up for a nice nap. Definitely a highlight of my Memorial Day weekend.

Movin' On Up

Well it's not to the East Side, per say, but we're moving our offices further east. My company has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years and we're taking over an incredible new space in Parsippany. It's still in the same town as where the old building was, but it'll make for a longer commute for me thanks to NJ traffic and roadwork.

The new space is going to be state of the art, and was designed to be like the Google offices of the East Coast. There are going to be multiple bars, a game room, mini-golf area, relaxation rooms complete with full body massage chairs, the biggest TV in the state of NJ, a space for a manicurist who will come in once a week and much more.

I'm very excited to get to our new space on Tuesday and unpack but at the same time it's sad to say goodbye to the old offices since it's where I got my start. One week after I graduated college I started as an account coordinator. Since then I moved up in the ranks to a Senior Account Executive, switched desks five times (three cubes, two offices), serviced multiple accounts, landed numerous placements, and worked with incredible people. I'm excited for this next chapter of my company's growth but will always remember 14 Walsh Drive, where it all began for me.

Planting 2011

Every year I say I don't want to plant but manage to do more than the previous year. This year we have three flower boxes, a border and a whole bunch of vegetables/herbs/fruit including basil, tomatoes, celery, strawberries, green beans, cucumbers, eggplants and zucchini. It'll be interesting to see how things grow in pots. Surprisingly last year the peppers and cucumbers did very well, and the tomatoes and basil always seem to work out.

For now we'll look makeshift like this with nearly a dozen pots cramming our front patio, but I can't wait until the day when we have a real backyard garden :)

Buster's Morning Routine

Every morning I make the bed (seriously, its a pet peeve) and since Buster isn't a morning dog he doesn't like getting up. I actually tell him when to move so I can finish each side of the bed. It's cute... when I'm not in a rush. 

Date Night 2011

The Chart House in Weehawken, NJ is a special place to Rob and I since its where we got engaged back in April 2006. We enjoyed a romantic dinner then took a walk along the waterfront. That's where he dropped down on his knee and proposed -- complete with the picturesque skyline of Manhattan in the background.

So this past Saturday night we decided to go out to a special dinner and chose the Chart House. While the food was good (not as delicious as we remembered) the scenery was incredible and it was fun to ask Rob what he was thinking about prior to proposing all those years ago.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead...

Well, he wasn't technically a witch, but Osama bin Laden was certainly a horrible person. After news that the Navy Seals killed him in a raid on Sunday, people around the country - and world - cheered that this terrorist was finally dead. Every television show was covering the breaking news and airing the announcement from President Obama. Social media was streaming the news alerts and displaying patriotism everyone across the states was feeling. On Monday the newspapers had his picture plastered on the front page.

While capturing this fugitive is a major accomplishment in the War on Terror and finally puts many Americans at ease, part of me worries about the possible retaliation from the al Qaeda. I don't think you can really kill off someones leader and not expect them to want to get back at you. I pray that they don't. Hopefully they'll realize that Americans don't mess around, even if it does take us a decade to track your sorry ass down. As the NY Daily News said, "Rot in Hell" Osama.

A Haiku to Traffic

I've hit a breaking point after several days of brutal traffic while getting to work. It's literally been at a dead stop for minutes, and for no good reason. While my commute isn't as long as some people I think it bothers me more because I quickly lose patience for it. I travel nine miles of just highway a day, and it shouldn't take me nearly an hour. Thus, my ode to traffic:

Traffic, I loathe you.
You suck the life from my day.
Start moving soon please.