2017: The Year of Air Miles

This year, we'll spend a lot more time in the air.  If all goes according to plan (which never exactly happens but usually close enough), Sven and I will be flying all over the world every couple months to spend time together.

Add the extra travel to see family plus a little more for work, and I'll be on a plane at least once a month. I know that really isn't a lot compared to some of my colleagues that fly out and back every week, but it's certainly a step up from the last few years.

And of course, this includes Phoebe.  While we won't fly her back and forth with us on trips (but I would if I could) she's still getting some miles in this year too.  Last February, she flew from Seattle to Dubai and now she'll do it again to come join me in Ballard.  In just under 2 weeks, my furry babe will make the 7,400+ mile trek back to the land of rain, woods, beaches, and happy pups.

Photo credit: Sven!

But until then, I'm going to savor these aerial photos I took last weekend.  I don't know if we flew lower than normal (possible since it was a teeny plane), or if the snow just made everything more interesting to look at.  But I couldn't stop staring out the window at everything below.

These photos aren't the greatest, but I wanted to share anyway.  I hope you enjoy seeing the world from up high as much as I did.

I am not sure if this is snow or thick cloud coverage.  It's cloud, right?

This tree line was so interesting - so long, straight, and abrupt. It reminds me of the aerial views of the border between Israel and Egypt.

Snowy Portland

Sunset over the south Puget Sound was breath-taking.  It reminded again me why we love this place so much.  And made me want to buy another house way too far south.

Seattle skyline.  It's not for everyone, but we think this place is pretty great.

Happy 2017

All things considered, 2016 was a wonderful year for us - full of adventure, excitement, and love. Together we moved, we traveled, we learned, and we grew.  And that's more than either of us asked for when 2016 started (we were just hoping for a bit of adventure).  So on this first day of 2017, I'm wildly optimistic about the days to come. 

And to top it all off, I got lucky with work and was able to fly back to Dubai for Christmas.  With all the hustle of the last couple months, it was really nice to just relax at home with my two loves.

We took 5 photos and this was the best one.  It's us and I like it.

Same crazy Phoebe.

And of course, Christmas in Dubai wouldn't be complete without lizards in the house.

But as airline tickets go, I had to fly back to Seattle on New Years Eve.  I was bracing myself for a rather long and uncomfortable flight in coach but ended up getting a complimentary upgrade to business.

The flight was so fantastic it might have ruined me forever.  

On a 14+ hour flight it made a huge difference.  After a couple glasses of rose champagne and an excellent breakfast, I was sound asleep on the flat-folding seat.  I slept a total of 8 hours (two 4hr spurts) and it was blissful.

I felt so good when I landed in Seattle, that I dropped off my luggage and went to buy a car.  I've been obsessively searching for months and I knew the exact one I wanted.  One $75 Lyft ride (OMG), and 3 hours later - Happy New Year to me!

4Runner bliss

After all the car buying excitement, I got home around 10:30pm on New Years Eve.  And I rang in the new year like this: 

And now it's nearly midnight on January 1st and I'm sitting on the couch, jet-lagged, blogging, and watching another crime drama (The Kettering Incident).  Sounds about right.

Happy New Year to you all.  Love you.

Lately: I'm still here

I'm still here, I just haven't made time to post anything.  It's been a busy 4 weeks - Sven and I flew to Vegas (via London), visited our 3 Vegas families for a week, then hopped up to Reno for a weekend to round-out family time, then packed a moving van full of stuff and drove to Seattle, moved into my new apartment, put Sven back on a plane to Dubai, I unpacked for 3 days, then flew to Atlanta and spent my first week working in Peach State, and took the late flight back on Friday so I could visit the Georgia Aquarium after work.

I tried to spend most of this weekend recovering.  It was not enough.

But I have some pretty cool photos and I'll share over the next week or so.  In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of what my days are like right now.

Every morning starts like this:

But somehow, I manage to pull myself together for work:

And then I come home, where I can let my true feelings show:

I am so tired.

Dubai Life: Freeze Frame

I'm leaving Dubai in 3 days (!!!) and it still hasn't quite sunk in that I won't be living here anymore. There are at least a dozen things I should be doing right now but I've temporarily hit the pause button. Our daily life is exactly the same as it's always been, at least in Dubai.  Now that I have a job and things are falling into place (albeit a little differently than we planned), we're so much more relaxed and everything is a little better/easier/more enjoyable.

And with long-distance looming ahead of us, everything also seems a little more precious than it did last week/month/year.  I know I'll pay for my procrastination with a dizzying, nonstop task-list on the last day, but right now I don't care.  I'm still savoring every moment of togetherness and I want to keep these moments with Sven and Phoebe forever.

Even the yoga mat thief appreciates sunset magic.

Oh yeah, I haven't even packed.

Today: Drape Me in Blue

Today, John Moreland is filling up my melancholy heart.  These songs, this voice, and this heaviness talk directly to me.  I feel sad and full at the same time.

Phoebe: All About Steve

Lately, Phoebe has grown really attached to Steven.  Of course she's always loved him, but for the last week or two there's been a new urgency in her affection for him.  She used to refuse to go anywhere without me, even when Steve tried to bribe her.  But now she's all about Steve, all the time.

Waiting for Steve to come home from work

And while Steve is certainly fantastic (I'm crazy about him too), it's still a fairly abrupt change.  At first, I joked to Steve that maybe he's sick and we need to go to the clinic because dogs "know things" and her level of clinginess was unreal. (I haven't entirely abandoned this train of thought.)  But I think it's just a natural reaction to all crap I've been subjecting her to lately.  She's developed allergies in Dubai (we think) and the new rules are no fun.  And I think it may have clicked for her last week - Steve's still the same, but I'm a meanie now.

But it's okay.  I know this is normal and we'll go back and forth in closeness with her over time.  I also recognize that treating her allergies is absolutely mandatory.  So even though my heart is aching, she's still not allowed to eat those treats, she's taking all the pills, and she's getting that antibiotic bath.  Even if it means she likes me a little less.

However, I do admit the two of them together all the time is pretty cute.

Those tiny bottom teeth are my favorite

What it looks like when a 90lb dog passes out and snores on you.

Moving to Seattle: An Apartment in Ballard

In the wee hours of this morning, I signed the lease for an apartment in Seattle.  Yep, even though I'm still in Dubai.  Here's the story...

I accepted the job offer about a week and a half ago.

My start date is in early December, so this gives me 5 1/2 weeks to pack all my Dubai stuff, find an apartment in Seattle, fly from Dubai to Vegas and Reno to spend Thanksgiving with our 4 families, drive a Uhaul with Sven full of stuff from storage in Reno to the new apartment in Seattle, move in and unpack the basics, get a new drivers license, put Steve on a plane back to Dubai (cry), and then be ready to travel to Atlanta GA for my first week of work.

It's a lot to do in a relatively short period of time, so I knew I had to cut corners somewhere.  Finding an apartment online instead of in-person was a natural choice since it could be done early from Dubai and take off some pressure towards the end.

Sure, why not?  I already had a couple neighborhoods in mind from our previous time living in Seattle, and I'm an old pro at finding housing online anyway.  I knew if I did my research well and picked carefully, it would be fiiiiine.  And if the carpet isn't the same color as the photo, or the room looks smaller in person, or the counter tops look a little older than some other place across the street - meh.  That doesn't really bother me.

I do however, need to be within walking distance to a park for Phoebe, a gym for me, and public transit so that I actually use all them as often as possible.  One thing I keep re-learning about myself is convenience is key - when something is just right there I usually force myself to go regularly.

When the gym is within 4-5 blocks of home

When the gym is far

So I've spent a good portion of the last 10 days hunting for apartments.  After some hemming and hawing, I settled on a 1 bedroom in Ballard.  The apartment meets all of the criteria, and then some them.  Plus, the additional "pet rent" for PB is pretty modest.  I CAN have my cake and eat it too (minus the fact that Sven will still be in Dubai and I'll have a 40-90 minute commute).

Of course, I don't move in until the end of November.  But at least it's one more thing that's DONE!