Hello, 2013! (Part I)

[Insert joke about how long it's been since I've posted.]

[Insert sincere apology for my absence and heartfelt promise to write more.]

It's 2013! Time for a fresh start! It's certainly a time for big changes here at the Holtz household! Here's a run down of the last 3 months (over this two part series). Hang on to your hat, it's been a wild ride!

December
I told you I traded in the Runner, but we also traded in Mike's truck for a 2013 Prius 4, straight off the boat from Japan!

The Prius!!

It sort of looks like a spaceship inside and I think it can fly, I just haven't found the button yet....

It's been a really great car and it's already very clear we're saving a lot on gas! It's our only car, but there were only a couple weeks where we had to share it before Mike left for training in New Jersey, but we'll get to that later...

So our first road trip with the Prius was to Louisiana for Christmas! It did really well and we enjoyed having Sirius radio and Pandora on the way! In Louisiana, we got to spend time with Mike's mom and sister as well as our nephew and niece, Landyn and CJ.

Now kids, Uncle Mike is not a jungle gym!

While we were there, a line of storms rolled through Christmas day. To be safe, we brought Mike's mom to our hotel room where we all hung out, took naps and watched TV. When the storms got there, we went outside to watch (of course). Nothing terrible where we were, but I do believe there were some tornadoes further east that day.

Took a picture of this classic SLC (scary-looking cloud) from our hotel parking lot.

After a few days in Louisiana, we drove back home, did some laundry, pet the cat and then boarded a plane to Wichita early the next morning. While in Wichita, we caught up with friends and relatives and in between socializing, we worked on a puzzle that Mike and I got my dad for Christmas.

I think these two were more in to the puzzle than I was, but we all worked on it!

For New Year's Eve, we had some friends over. Sadly, due to widespread illness, our party was a bit smaller than we'd planned for, but it was still and enjoyable evening with Ryan Seacrest, Apples to Apples and some bubbly!

Steve shows off his winnings from Apples to Apples. 

January
On Saturday, January 5th, Mike left for Fort Dix in New Jersey where he would attend a month-long Army training course before his deployment to Afghanistan. I dropped him off at the airport with a tearful goodbye and hopes that it would work out for me to go visit him on the East Coast before he left.

The next day, Sunday, I was the volunteer coordinator for the American Meteorological Society's Weatherfest, associated with their annual meeting in Austin. I was worried that we wouldn't have enough help, but everything went very smoothly and I had a great time. I got to meet several new weather friends as well as meet up with old friends! I also handed off my work computer to a now-former co-worker. My employer had run out of grant money to pay for my position, so they had to let me go. I knew it was time to move on, but I certainly enjoyed my two years working from home. So....

On Monday I started my brand new job with Rackspace, the Open Cloud Company! I've known about Rackspace ever since we found out we were moving to San Antonio. If you Google "Best places to work, San Antonio" Rackspace is one of the first companies you'll see! I was so excited to get hired on as a Content Strategist. Basically, I'm a technical writer as well as an admin for a Knowledge Management System. It seems like a strange jump, but I was doing a lot of technical writing with the National Weather Service, so this is a very natural move for me.

So Rackspace is known for it's company culture, much like Google. There are vendors or food trucks for breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon-Fri. You do have to purchase your own food (we're not that much like Google), but you can choose from things like Freebirds and Rudy's as well as other local restaurants that bring in food! Also, when other Rackers (Rackspace employees) ask where my desk is, I tell them I'm near the slide. Yes, that's right, the slide.

They're also really big on t-shirts. I'm averaging about 1 t-shirt per week!

My first Rackspace t-shirt!

So Rackspace is more than just food trucks, t-shirts and slides. As you can see from their Core Values, they're a great company both for customers and employees. I have a one-on-one meeting with my supervisor every week and I'm on the cycling team and the running team. I'm even looking into joining RaxFit (free CrossFit for Rackers!).

Stay tuned for Part II....

Color Me Rad 5K

I'm going to go ahead and say we've established a new tradition. I believe the perfect end to any challenging triathlon and marathon season is some sort of unique 5K. Last year it was the Warrior Dash where we hopped over obstacles like beat up cars and 20-foot walls and crawled through mudpools. It was a blast, but not really for which you train (at least we don't).

This years fun 5K presented itself in the form of the latest 5K fad: a color run. The Color Me Bad 5K was held this past Sunday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. In a color run, participants run a normal 5K, but at different points along the route there are teams of people with colored corn starch or sprayers filled with colored liquid and their sole purpose is to make you as colorful as they can!

We started out so clean and fresh:

The benefitting charity was the Ronald McDonald House, so we took our pic with Ronald!

The sunglasses were part of the swag we got with race registration. Although it wasn't sunny that morning, it would soon become clear why they were necessary...

After the race, we met up with Justin and Clarissa at Taco Garage for a post-race lunch. We made sure there was room on the patio since we didn't clean up first!

Giving Thanks 2012

This Thanksgiving, Mike and I decided that it would be best if we stayed in San Antonio. We let our parents know they were invited to join us for the holiday, but that we were unable to travel this year. Mike's mom and my mom RSVP'd for our celebration and we had a wonderful time!

Boomer Sooner Homecoming!

Way back in the spring, it was looking like we weren't going to be in Texas past Summer of 2013. Not knowing where we might land, I figured 2012 was really my last chance to go to an OU football game from within driving distance. (Turns out I was right!) So I told Mike I would be planning an OU football weekend. If he wanted to plan a trip to see the LSU Tigers play, I'd be on board completely, but I wanted to see the Sooners play on Owen Field this year!

Shortly after making this declaration, a friend mentioned on Facebook that he was selling two tickets to EVERY HOME GAME this season. I was ecstatic. I went to the OU Football schedule and strategically chose the OU/KU game on October 20th. It was Homecoming, 3 days after my birthday and since I'm from Kansas I have a special place in my heart for KU (even when OU is crushing them!). It was the obvious choice. So I mailed a check and a few days later, these bad boys were in our mailbox!

Hello, Beautiful!

We got in on the Friday night before the game on Saturday. Mike and I love a little pasta shop on Campus Corner called Victoria's. They have homemade pasta and their food is amazing. It's exactly what you'd expect from a small pasta shop in a college town: limited seating on a Friday night, grungy hipster servers, and amazing food!

We sat above the kitchen so we could watch them prepare our meals!

I decided there should be a birthday celebration at The Mont, a local establishment specializing in Swirls (frozen mix of margarita and sangria) and awarding drunk co-eds with t-shirts on their birthday! My t-shirts were a little worse for the wear (one survived the Warrior Dash and the other had holes in it) so I figured it was time for a new one. I was so happy to see so many friends including folks from my sorority, my meteorology class and work!

This year's shirts were kind of cute!

On Saturday, Mike and I got up and did a circuit workout at the hotel. We stayed at the National Center for Employee Development (NCED) where they train postal workers. It's really nice and has a lot of amenities since federal employees go there for weeks at a time for training. Mike and I also took in some ping pong and a game of horse in the gym!

LSU was playing Texas A&M that day so Mike and I caught the last part of the game at Louie's. It was an exciting game that ended up in a creative last effort by the Aggies, but the Tigers won in the end so Mike was happy.

Mike was really into the game!

Just as we were leaving Louie's to meet up with a friend for some tailgating, we came across the homecoming parade! We got to see the Sooner Schooner, the cheerleaders and the Pride of Oklahoma!

From there we met up with my friend, Chris, with whom I used to work at Weathernews. He and his friends shared with us some of their fajitas, beer and cookies! We were very grateful! We even met a nice couple from Kansas. He was a grad student at OU so he wore an OU shirt. She wore a KU shirt! Soon, it was time to go to our seats and get ready for the pre-game entertainment!

Chris and I

Our seats were in the south end zone. It was a gorgeous day for football in Oklahoma!!

IIIIIIIT'S FOOTBALL TIME in OKLAHOMA!!!

What a good LSU guy to wear an OU shirt for his wifey!

During halftime, I was able to meet up with my college roommate and her husband. They just had twins this year, so it was great to catch up and see what's going on in their lives. They live in Tulsa and we hadn't seen them since our wedding! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture. :(

The game was a bit of a blowout, as expected. The final score was 52-7, OU, but Mike and I left at the beginning of the 4th quarter to walk back to the car.

On our way back to Texas on Sunday, we made arrangements to meet Mike's Aunt Marcia, Uncle Earl and grandmother in Gainesville, TX for lunch. We had a great time catching up with them and were very glad we could stop and see them. Even though we live in the same state, we're still almost 6 hours away!

We had such a great weekend! Mike even asked if we could go to all the games! Ha! 15 hours of driving round trip probably isn't something either of us is up to, but I'd like to make this an annual thing for sure, perhaps switching between LSU and OU games so the Tigers get some Holtz Love, too!

I think I'll go to Boston...

So life changing things have happened over the past few months. I haven't written about it for several reasons, none of which include "I was busy" because I just wasn't.

Over the summer, Mike found out he will be deployed for six months starting in early 2013. We've done this once before, five years ago when we were living in Oklahoma and had been dating less than a year. It was hard, but ultimately showed each of us that we were ready to commit to one another. We know the routine: I can get a pass to see him off at the gate at the airport (as well as greet him at the gate when he returns), large flat rate boxes from the post office are $2 less for APO/FPO addresses, and he's got a code for free 15 min phone calls.

Another interesting bit of information we got over the summer was that the pool of funds to pay for my employment have dried up and, to make a long, complicated story short, my contract will be ending shortly after Mike deploys.


Many of you know that we'll be moving to Boston next year. Mike was offered a job at Hascom AFB. This is a really great opportunity for him so he accepted and his "Report No Later Than" date is next October. So obviously that is very far away, but Mike and I are planners who thrive on change so we immediately started researching neighborhoods, walk scores, grocery stores, public transportation, etc.

So with all this new information, we've been strategizing the best way to move to Boston. I've been looking at jobs, but it's just too early to start applying. The Air Force won't move us to Boston without orders which will come in June of 2013 at the earliest. We'd like to get the house on the market soon while Mike's here to fix odds and ends and just in case it sits unsold for months. However, we put in an offer for this house before a sign went up in the yard, so I'm thinking it'll go pretty quickly!

Last week we took a quick trip to Boston to visit friends and check out the city as neither of us had been there.

Mike's friend Jen and her hubby, Mike, were our hosts for the weekend. We attended their wedding in Albuquerque last April. They live in a cute little apartment in the Fenway area and yes, it's right next to Fenway where the Red Sox play!

On Saturday, Jen drove us around a few different neighborhoods to get a feel for each one. I knew there were a lot of universities in Boston, but the sheer number of students is mind boggling. It's like living in one huge, urban college town!

On Sunday, we took a Duck Tour around the city. We had a funny driver named "Airtime" (he was a motorcycle stuntman, too, I guess). It was a great way to see the city and learn a bit of history.

Jen, Mike and Mike waiting to board the Duck!

These folks were dressed up as Revolutionary War soldiers and
I believe they would tell people about Boston history

I got to drive the Duck on the water!

On Monday, Mike and I had planned to go on a long run, but we opted to walk around some of the neighborhoods near Jen and Mike's place. We learned an awful lot about the area just be wandering around for three hours!

It was a quick trip, but now we can at least say we've been there and explored the city a bit! I do feel more confident when looking for a place to live, now!

Texas Summer Vacay!

Mike and I have frequently talked about how we'd like to take his nephew and niece, Landyn (8) and CJ (5 then, now 6 at the time of this writing), for a week or so over their summer vacation. Since we're in San Antonio, there are SO many things to do with them! Earlier this summer, Mike mentioned that he had a "free" 5-day weekend for the 4th of July if he stayed in town. I suggested that this would be a perfect time to have the kids come visit and he agreed! We quickly made arrangements with his sister to meet them halfway and bring the kids home with us.

We met Courtney and the kids in Beaumont, TX so no one had to make the full 8-hour trip!

We brought the kids home on the 4th of July and boy did we hit the ground running. Only Mike and Veronica Holtz would drive halfway across Texas in the morning and host a 4th of July party that evening for 20 guests complete with sprinkler-playing, s'mores with homemade marshmallows, and fireworks! There were some other kids at the party so we broke two sprinklers and the cat and chickens were thoroughly terrorized.

Sprinklers

Sparklers

I got the four of us matching Old Navy flag shirts and made them all wear them to the party. I'm so my mother's daughter! :) (Hey, at least I don't know how to sew everyone flag shorts...)

There's a whole series of shots like this as we were egged on by the kids and onlookers.

In the days that followed we took the kids...

...to the San Antonio Children's Museum

...to at least 5 or 6 different playgrounds (a few more than once!)

...on a drive-through Wildlife Safari!

....to a petting zoo at the Wildlife Safari

...spelunking. (Note: children are sometimes scared in caves....also sometimes claustrophobic aunts, too.)

...to Sea World

...on a Riverboat tour

...to the Alamo

...on bike rides

...to the Witte Museum (they're on-air meteorologists with floating heads!)

Swimming was a VERY popular activity while the kids were here. Mike and I belong to a gym with a crazy splash pool and ginormous water slide. We really don't use this amenity much (there was that one time we went down the slide in our tri gear, goggles and all), but we were so grateful to have it for them. We may or may not have gone overboard with pool gear at Target. :)

Snozzles and Googles! (Snorkels and Goggles)

Landyn must have gone on the slide about a billion times

Another popular activity was ice cream eating. Aunt Veronica was quite the enabler...

The kids ended up staying with us for two and a half weeks. We put them in day camp at Lackland AFB while we were at work. They got to do things like go skating and swimming. We checked out a bunch of books at the library and we would read a couple books every night before bed. We even got Landyn to read a couple to us. :)

The second weekend the kids were here, we decided to take them to the beach in Corpus Christi. CJ had long wanted to go to the beach and it was on my summer bucket list, so why not? We stocked up on beach toys at Target (everything was on clearance!), loaded up the 4Runner, rented a canopy when we got there and had a blast!

On our way out of town, we stopped at Rudy's for some BBQ.

And then we stopped for some ice cream on the drive home. :)

Mike's Mom and Step-Dad, Mr. Bo, came to pick them up when it was time for the kids to go home. Mr. Bo has had some health issues recently so we were very happy they made the trip out to see our home and enjoy San Antonio.

Mike, Mr. Bo and Landyn hanging out at the Pearl Brewery during the  Farmer's Market.