Chicago and Houston

I headed out early Sunday morning - up at 5:00 am - flight at 7:10 am - and flew to Chicago.  I was at and checked into hotel by @ 10:00 am central time which left me a few hours before the meeting actually started.  It was such a gorgeous day I decided I needed to be outside rather than go to the gym so I picked up from the concierge what the local jogging trails were.  I didn't pay attention initially to the fact that this particular trail was 5 1/2 miles (about 2 1/2 miles more than what I would normally do) but turned out it was a better way to spend the time rather than watch the Chicago Bears get their butt kicked by the Arizona Cardinals.

 

The next day I went to the gym and rode one of those elliptical machines for 25 minutes (again not my usual workout) and spent the balance of the week with such sore calves to the point I was tiptoeing everywhere - most likely a comical sight. 

 

After the Chicago meeting ended I headed to Houston for two back to back meetings.  It was nice flying in to Houston, and I still have a sense of coming home when I'm there, which I know will start to change over time.  And as if last weeks losses weren't enough I left my blackberry on the flight to Houston - grrrrrrrrr (my experience is the chance of recovering anything lost on a flight is minimal - 0)

 

Aside from that I had two good meetings and took some customers to Pete's Piano Bar in downtown Houston Thursday night - a place I had never been in all the years I lived there - which was a fun hangout and got some of my colleagues and customers up on stage. 

 

I was starting to wear out toward the end of the week and longing for home which I made it to late Friday night. I was thinking about Pope Francis traveling the U.S. this week and in particular addressing Congress, sympathizing with the rigors of his schedule, glad he took time out to be here.

 

 

 

 

 Another week has come and gone.  Gabby (and Tyler) are now in their 38th week - 2 to go.  Naomi Victoria will be making her appearance any day now, and Gabby's looking terrific.

 

And while working on the west coast this week Jake had the opportunity to visit The Schleutkers in Carlsbad.  Sue captured this precious photo of him with Grant. 

 

Flying home I had Gem with me.  She's always good to belly up to the bar with.

 

 

Looking forward to a week in Charleston getting caught up and doing the day to day and homeowner chores; yard work, laundry, housekeeping, etc. and all other projects that make the list.

 

 

NYC, St Louis and Miami

Busy week bouncing around the country attending some important customer meetings, but it was also the start of two weeks on the road and this first one was particularly challenging because it seemed like everywhere I went I was determined to sabotage myself and leave something incredibly important or miss a flight.

So the week started off with a quick trip to Manhattan to Midtown to meet with a potential client.  Flights on time, weather good however I left my work iPad in the seat back pocket of the flight, something I normally never do.

And then when leaving this meeting I had planned to Uber to LaGuardia to catch my next flight however was having problems with the App and couldn't get it to work.  It was a bad place to try to catch a cab and given it was right at 5:00 pm rush hour even worse.  I finally did catch a cab right across from the Met building and the driver was awesome but ended up missing fight to St Louis by just a few minutes.  Now starts the fun.  There is no other direct flight so you have to start weighing the options of purchasing other flights, different connections and possibly driving some leg of the trip.  I ended up using my ticket to take a later flight to Chicago and then purchased a new ticket to St Louis from there.  Expensive, but it got me there, albeit after 1:00 am. 

Next day in St Louis was beautiful and I got to play golf at Missouri Bluffs golf course with a long time customer and some of their producers.  But even while there I managed to leave my corporate credit card and luckily my customer was nice enough to Fed Ex it back to me. 

From there I caught a flight to Miami for another producer meeting getting in very very late.  Before taking off from the hotel the following morning I managed to leave a folder with a lot of important information and receipts for the trip which I then also had to have Fed Ex'd back to me.  This was starting to get ridiculous.  Maybe it's just end of Summertime Blues  ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZZD8ckwLJA

Thankfully I had a wonderful sitter for Gem while gone this week.  She and Delilah have gotten pretty comfortable together.

 

 

And when I got back to town to pick up Gem, Gina was already headed to Miami (our flights crossed) for her first baby shower.

Joanne, Gina's Mom, had put on a great party for Gina and friends and it looks like they got some nice stuff.

 

 

And, I noticed that Baby Boy Horseman's room is really starting to take shape

 

 

I CAN'T WAIT for these grandbabies!!!

 

And to end this week on a fabulous note, I received a surprise text upon landing back in Charleston Friday night, Frank would be coming to spend the day on Saturday which was awesome.  Such a long and expensive trip for one day but I was so happy.  It would only be for one day because I was heading back out on the road Sunday - but I couldn't have picked a better way to spend it.

 

 

Chuck town

Hanging in "Chuck town" for the week gave me an opportunity to have dinner with Gina one night.  It's wonderful to see Baby Boy growing.

I joined a gym again.  I've done this off and on over the years and usually tell myself it's not worth it given how often I actually end up going, but I was introduced to Planet Fitness that's just 4 miles from my house, and for @ $10.00 a month I've decided to recommit.  (Also seeing myself from the back in a pair of short shorts last week gave me additional motivation).  Hi Ho Hi Ho . . .

I met my neighbor Chris the day I was moving in (can't believe that was 2 months ago already) and I could tell we were going to hit it off right away.  She had a "Girls potluck" dinner this week and invited me.  I agreed to bring the veggies.  I put my cooking skills to the test and made spinach casserole (tasted more like a quiche) and summer squash with fresh market tomatoes and onions.  Both turned out edible. 

 

Chris's back porch and a couple of the awesome ladies (both named Mary) that I got to meet.

 

 

Then later in the week I did some bike riding with Gem.  We both love this.



And when we returned we found this turtle hanging out in front of the garage. 

I also, at the request of Tyler and Gabby, got vaccinated this week since it's been since the year 2000 since I had any type of vaccine, and with Naomi now just weeks away I want to be sure it will be safe for her to have me nearby.  The CVS Minute Clinic right up Mathis Ferry Rd was happy to accommodate. 

























The rest of the week was dedicated to home and garden clean up in anticipation of fall right around the corner.  I can feel a slight change in the temperatures in the early morning, the humidity is declining, it's delicious.   Fall, it's a favorite time of year with so much to look forward to.

Baltimore, MD and McLean, VA and D.C. - Labor Day Weekend

Business trip to Baltimore this week (and  I was also able to make a best connection at one of my favorite places, Hotel Monaco while there).  I met up with colleague Andrea Williams and we co-presented to a group of customers via "round robins". 

 

That night our customer treated the entire group to a boat tour of Baltimore Harbor.

Then I headed to Virginia the next day

 

to work the balance of the week in McLean.  One night we went to an awesome show at Blues Alley "The nations finest jazz and supper club" with some favorite friends / neighbors to see and hear Chris Thomas King. 

Me so excited to be going . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

You may know him from his work and musical contribution to "O Brother Where Art Thou".  His voice is like silk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C49wU5EqT0

Next day it turned out that the National Book Festival was being held in Washington, DC which was a great surprise.  In the past it's been held on The Lawn but was moved to the convention center the last couple of years.  Having attended the Texas Book Festival for so long I have to say my venue preference is a mix of indoor and out but I loved getting to do this and pick up some books for friends and family members.

Lisa Scottline - an author that I have several books from thanks to Chelsea Israel and her high school connection to Lisa's daughter Francesca or "Kiki" - was one of the speakers at the festival and did a great job connecting with the audience.  I was also able to hear Walter Isaacson, Walter Mosley, John Meacham and a bit from Paul Halpern.











Labor Day - how awesome to have an extra day off.  We took the opportunity to head to DC again and check out the National Portrait Gallery.  We saw the Elaine DeKooning exhibit which featured a lot of men.  This painting looked a lot like the guy walking by.

There were tons of beautiful paintings and interesting exhibits to see

including this one that visitors could become a part of.




 

And the above center square with the bird is a piece of art that I got from an "art machine" which looked like an old cigarette machine.  For $5 you could get a surprise piece of "art in a box".  Check out www.wendyhuhn.com

 for more of her gorgeous stuff.

 

We even made a quick detour by the White House and I got to see the sniper on the roof (look close on the left side near chimney).

 

Big huge shout out goes to Jake and Gina for pet sitting Gem for the week. She's still learning the rules of the house but she is so happy to have a place where she is loved and cared for.

 

And thanks to the guy that makes my day.  So happy together.