Hi there.

Coronado Beach sunset

Well, howdy. It's been a hot minute.

I've missed this. I miss the writing, the community, and getting on my soapbox from time to time (ha!). As spring slowly thaws out Pittsburgh, my writing muscles are thawing out, too.

I have things I want to share with you. Adventures I'm having, projects I'm starting, dreams I'm scheming, challenges I'm facing. The desire to share has been brewing for weeks now, but I had to work out some kinks in my head. Sometimes I get too wrapped up analyzing this and that, worrying that my ramblings are of little to no interest to anyone. I know my fellow writers can relate... I also know that we throw in the towel at some point and jump right in anyway!

So, here I am. Feeling a little rusty. Feeling a little shy.

Here's a sneak preview of what I'll probably chit-chat about in the coming weeks:

* I'm teaching weekly fitness classes to seniors at a local senior facility. They're a kick in the pants!

* I finally went swing dancing after living in Pittsburgh for a year and a half. A year and a half too long, yo.

* I visited San Diego last month. Love.

* I registered for Zumba training and certification at long last.

* Rheumatoid arthritis is no joke. Two years post-diagnosis, I have much to rant about.

I think that's a good start.

It's nice to be back.

xoxo

Rays of sunshine

The sun came out today.

It was still cold. I still needed to bundle up to brace myself against the wind's bite. It is amazing, though, the difference that bright, golden ball of light makes in my outlook.

Winter is gray out here, y'all. I'm sure you native easterners are rolling your eyes at me right now, but I didn't know just how *gray*, gray meant when everyone told me how gloomy it gets out here through winter. Last week a coworker enlightened me that the 'Burgh is the second gray-est city in the nation in winter. Well, that's an interesting factoid for this native Rocky Mountain gal.

Today was definitely a Monday. Sore throat, feeling icky, but pushing through at the office. Aunt Flo paid a surprise visit. Arrived at a doc appointment only to not have said doc appointment because I didn't have the necessary paperwork. I just wanted to head home and crawl back into bed.

Then, on the bus ride home, I was admiring how much brighter the world looked, thinking that I myself felt lighter, and I realized why - the sun was shining!

Grateful for the sunshine today.

What rays of sunshine did you experience today?

xoxo
J

Pittsburgh first impressions

A smattering of random thoughts and commentary on my new city...

I nickname everything and everybody. I have no idea why I do this, but I just can't call people or things by their proper or full names. Apparently the correct nickname for Pittsburgh is "Pitts", not "Pitt". But I like "Pitt" better. Pitts makes me think of armpits. The other one I've heard is "the 'Burgh." I like this much better, so I will probably start referencing it as such.


Like I mentioned in  my last post, the architecture and greenery in this city are stunning! Between old houses, cathedrals and synagogues, it's a photographer's dream. Too bad my photog skills don't extend much beyond my Crackberry, but I've been able to grab a few decent shots...

Love love love all the bridges (that's Heinz Field in the background, home to the Steelers)

The Cathedral of Learning, this amazing, tall, historic, gorgeous building, part of the University of Pittsburgh

Food. This hungry dancer has been more than well-fed over the past week. I will save the juicy details for future Hungry Dancer posts, but here is one sandwich that dominated me...

That, my friends, is a Colossal Fish & Cheese sandwich from the infamous Primanti Brothers. We saw this restaurant featured on TV a couple months before we left Colorado and agreed to visit once we arrived. Their signature is piling whatever meat you choose with fries, homemade cole slaw and tomato. It was completely unhealthy and delish. And ginormous. I am barely clutching only half in my hand and that half was bigger than my fist! Needless to say, I took most of it home.


When it rains, it pours... literally. We quickly learned to carry umbrellas with us at all times. In Colorado, dark clouds will roll in, looking as if they are about to unleash the next major flood, but it's all a tease... almost as soon as they appear, they're gone and it's back to full-on sun. In Pittsburgh, if the weatherman says it's going to rain, it will. And it means business. I will be investing in a legit rain coat and galoshes in my near future.

Someone was a bit grumpy as we waited out the torrent

It's still surreal that I'm not just on vacation but actually living here. We're still hunting for a permanent place (another post in itself), which means we're still living out of our suitcases, so that doesn't help. I can't believe that I've only been a Pitt resident for 7 days! Feels like lots of time has passed since flying across the country and getting married (only a week ago!)... and speaking of, more on the wedding tomorrow!

Happy Monday lovelies!

xoxo

J

I'm a Mrs!

Hello!

It's been a whirlwind the past four days, between getting married, frantically packing and re-packing and re-packing again, flying for hours on end, finally arriving at our hotel at 3am, learning to navigate a new city and fighting with the US Postal Service to let us set up a dang PO Box. Oh, the adventures keep coming.... but we made it! And we're hitched!

Us

Pitt is blowing my mind with the stunning architecture and green spaces

More detailed wedding and Pittsburgh scoop to come, so stay tuned!

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

J

New ballet shoes and bling

Life is so full and it just whizzes by with mere seconds to take a deep breath before diving back in. I try so very hard to capture in snapshots in my mind to share here on le blog. My memory bank is quite full these days and I can only hope to remember to share all that's happening. Here are a few things as of late....

More and more Pittsburgh apartment shopping. Today we finally got some positive responses - "yes, we're willing to rent to you via the Internet... please find the application attached..." Most responses have been hesitant or flat-out no's to renting remotely. I mean, I get it from a business perspective. I guess. But we're giving you our money, so... Fingers crossed today's finds work out!

It's been on national news, but in case you haven't heard, Colorado's mountains are burning everywhere. We have several fires right now, but the one closest to where I live is the High Park Fire. It burned over 87,000 acres, last I heard, and while it's now 100% contained, the entire state is still under a fire ban. Which meant no personal fireworks were allowed for 4th of July. My city cancelled fireworks all together, out of respect to those who've lost their homes and for the firefighters who have been battling the inferno. The neighboring city, which happens to be my hometown, did fireworks though, so we drove there to see the display. While my hometown itself is not my favorite (a story for another time), I'm glad we ventured down there. I love the 4th of July.

New shoes! It takes me forever to buy myself new ballet slippers, but my toes were poking out so badly I just couldn't take it anymore. I love how clean and pink they are when I first take them out of the box. I even love the process of sewing my elastics to fit my feet just right. Little things just make me happy!

This doesn't do justice to how holey those shoes are...

Pretty and still pink...

So do some bigger things... like this:

Yes, he put a ring on it!! We got engaged last Sunday, July 1st. I guess I can't refer to him here as Boyfriend anymore, now can I?  We're pretty excited. No date or set plans yet. You never know with me, so stay tuned :)

What have you been up to lately??

Happy Friday!

 xoxo

J