Author: Carrie Spritzer

Yes, there have been more trips to the beach. Pictured above clockwise from left to right: Christana and David, cousin Julia, aunt Deborah-Miriam, and windblown David and Carrie.My trip back east feels like it was ages ago. I had a fantastic time in New York and New Jersey: got to see many friends and family, eat at some awesome restaurants, stay up late watching episodes of the West Wing, and spend some time in The City with Aida! It was a total blast. Since then, Julia and Deborah-Miriam visited us (above!) and we had a whirlwind and super fun trip, we spent time with Christana at the beach and drove down the coast, and I got to meet many of David’s coworkers at a rocking office Hawaiian-themed party at a nearby winery! We also now have California plates on the car and have seen movies in several theaters in town (X-Men 3, Da Vinci Code). Next up: An Inconvenient Truth at the independent movie theater near our house, hiking trip tomorrow, and lots of time poolside.

Hello from California! We’ve been here two weeks and already love it!

David REALLY likes his job: all sorts of interesting, challenging things to learn, and he especially likes the people that he’s working with. They have been so welcoming and supportive!

Our apartment is great: marble fireplace, kitchen bar, large open living room, and beautiful grounds at the complex. The best part though is the location. We live on the edge of town just a hop skip and a jump from David’s workplace and directly across the street from a City Park adjacent to a County Park adjacent to a State Park. Every evening we walk over to the parks and hike/walk/run around the lakes and in the hills. It’s been so great! What a beautiful spot! As for our place, we still have tons of stuff in boxes, but my desk is finally set up (a la apartment therapy) and I think we’re about as unpacked as we are going to get for now.

We’ve have lots of social time: cooked dinner with our friends from Silver City Christana and Richard twice (they threw us a welcome to California dinner at their beautiful farm house in Healdsberg), headed to Berkeley to see my high school friends Kenny and Yuni who are getting their PhDs there, met lots of people at the pool/hot tub in our apartment complex, and went out with one of David’s coworkers and his wife for dinner last week at a fantastic Italian place near the downtown area.

We’ve also visited the beach (twice!) and seen all sorts of wildlife, headed to Sonoma and Glen Ellen (the later we especially loved), and enjoyed our afternoon in Berkeley (Kenny gave us a great tour and we hit a fabulous bookstore). Next up: Muir Woods, Point Reyes, and Napa. We also have yet to visit a winery; we’ve just driven by dozens!

It’s been great seeing friends and meeting new people and discovering new places. Northern California is really starting to feel like home and we are so happy.

This week I head to New York and New Jersey for my Mom’s graduation (she’s getting her masters degree from Rutgers) and I can’t wait to see friends and family. Despite David staying behind, it should be a great trip–it’s my first time back in over a year and a half.

Views of my gigantic office with its glorious wall of four windows.

Friday was my last day of full-time work. It was a bittersweet and long day, and a rather momentous event in my life. Slowly I am unwinding and already feel less stressed and sleeping better. I am wondering how long the vacation feeling will last before I start itching to begin work again, and if our plans go through I will be telecommuting part-time from California. In the meantime, let the packing continue and the partying begin!

This morning I got my hair cut short. Natalie Portman short. In celebration of my newfound buzz, we went to see V for Vendetta… again. I definitely enjoyed it much more this second time, because I could focus on the dialogue and characters, rather than the suspense and overarching disturbing themes of the film. I really hope Natalie gets an Oscar nomination; I thought she was absolutely brilliant and even more so this time around.

This past week I found myself, once again, out in the field observing water well drilling. There is something fitting–and full circle–about being out in the field with the drillers during my second to and last weeks of work. Luckily the wells are not 24-hour gigs, so I am working semi-sane hours and getting regular sleep. I enjoy the time outside and the meeting of new people. This upcoming week–my last week in the office–should be incredibly busy and stressful as I finish up several large projects and smoothly (fingers crossed) transition my clients to other staff members. It will be a long and emotional week, but I am hopeful that we will all end up in a good place… I am very looking forward to this upcoming break. Starting week after next, I will have a minimum of 53 more hours per week for myself for a little while, since I won’t be working full time and commuting and (sometimes) taking a lunch hour. Oh, I feel so burnt out. I can’t wait to sleep in past 6 in the morning every day of the week and have time for my photography, quilting, jewelry making, reading during the day, cooking, knitting, website design, swimming, yoga, long walks (and short runs), and trips to the beach. Isn’t it exciting?!

In the meantime our time in Boulder continues. We keep packing and cleaning and organizing. We are spending lots of time with friends. Today I found a beautiful dress for an upcoming wedding, tomorrow we keep with the tradition of breakfast with Stefan (Thorsten has returned to Germany and we miss him!), and two weeks from Tuesday we head to California.

Oh, I am so excited.

Some of our guests at the last Spritzer Leyba wine and cheese party in Boulder; from left to right: Jenny, Joe, Dan, Oak, Tim, David, and Stefan. We had a great time!

*** Added some more link love, updated the archives, and found a most inspiring site.

We’ve lined up a place to live for when we move. I am so ready to enjoy the comforts of a dishwasher, walk-in closet, air conditioning, and fireplace for the first time in many years, not to mention amenities such as a fitness center and pool. Downsizing is worth it. I can’t wait to swim every day all summer.

Spring appears to be on its way to Boulder with warm days this past weekend. I am SO ready to say goodbye to winter. I say yay for moving to a place without cold winters.

Oh, and we’ve also been battling hives galore brought on by gluten/rice (me) and nightshades such as potato and tomato (David) and exasperated by stress. A few weeks ago I made a long list of restaurants we wanted to eat in before we left, but now with all of these food allergies we’ve decided to just eat where we can, when we can. We enjoyed nachos at the Lazy Dog on Saturday and brunched at Sunflower on Sunday. I just want to get one last meal in at Trilogy Wine Bar before we say goodbye to Boulder and I’ll be happy.

The house is slowly being packed away. We’re in the process of gathering items for our yard sale. We’ve been getting together with and starting to say goodbye to friends. And I only have three weeks left of work. Time is flying by and we are so excited!

4/7 UPDATE: So much for downsizing! Evidently our new apartment is the same size as our current house. All right! We lose one bedroom and gain a walk-in closet/better floorplan and there you go.

David’s new bosses sent him an iPod Nano as a welcome to the company gift! While I think it’s fabulous, I am so freaking jealous. Good thing David is so generous and is willing to share.