October has been an extremely busy month. For me, I spent September adjusting to the new duties at work and kicked off October with a project kickoff and software reengineering effort. It seems like I have an endless to-do list, but that is in part due to meetings all the dime. Feels good to be this busy! This workload included a busy trip to Hawai'i (someone has to do it...).
Lauren has been swamped (understatement) with school also, whether it is an outline, brief, or researching the elements of negligence (duty, breach and causation). Her words, not mine! She is charging forward, midway through her first semester.
We also celebrated our One Year anniversary of marriage! In true spirit of exchanging paper gifts, we have bought tickets to see All's Well That Ends Well by the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC.
Hope everyone is enjoying the great Labor Day weekend weather so far!!
First, I want to apologize for not posting more, we have had a busy summer and fall doesn't look to allow us to slow down. I wanted to give some quick updates, in case you had not heard...
Lauren started classes almost two weeks ago at George Mason University School of Law! I'll let her share more details, but will tell you she has been buried in reading. Overall she has been excited about the experiences.
Last May we volunteered for the 2010 Virginia HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth) Leadership Seminar at University of Richmond. It was an awesome weekend with ~225 sophomores from high schools all over Virginia. I was nominated and elected to the Corporate Board and had the opportunity to attend the HOBY Training Institute. After TI I have been ramped up in planning future events and updating VA HOBY's online/IT infrastructure. Look for more updates on events and even opportunities for volunteering around the state.
Last Monday, I started a new position at Marine Corps Systems Command. I was given the opportunity to lateral from a technical position to a project officer position. I now have the task of managing directly two web based systems that support USMC manpower and HR business processes. This will grow my experience and allow me to apply knowledge from ISAT (specifically web services).
Also, in case you weren't aware we have moved (about two miles) from our apartment in Pentagon City. We still live in Arlington and are enjoying a quieter location with a greater neighborhood feel. We have had spent the summer grilling out and enjoying our new home. We are located off the metro, but close to a bus line to allow Lauren to get to school.
Our new building started a pet-of-the-month award, and the first month Foosa was selected! We'll try to post the bio that was posted in the lobby during August. She is now recognized by our neighbors who all ask
Is that Foosa the famous pet??
Which she replies by usually being relatively shy (she loves the attention).
I hope all is well with each of you, and as we always say - will try to post more...
Just a quick note to let you know we are in the process of redesigning the website and blog for www.mattandlauren.org. We are really excited for the new format, and hope that this will encourage us to revitalize the blog and post some of the exciting things that have been happening in our lives!
This summer has flown by! I can’t believe it’s the end of August. I was really trying to commit to posting an update at least once a month, but obviously, we haven’t gotten into that routine yet.
July and August have been very full and fun months. On the wedding front, Matt and I finished up our vendor selection last week. For our cake, we are going with MallowDrama in Reston, VA. Mary and David are a husband and wife team with a lot of experience and really great ideas. They also use only organic ingredients, so that was a plus! We also picked a florist, Blooming Spaces in Sterling. Kathleen has been great to work with so far, and we are really looking forward to working with her for the wedding.
I also finished shopping for my wedding day accessories in the past few months, and I got my dress altered and bustled. It’s all ready to go! The bridesmaids dresses also came in and almost all of the groomsmen have been fitted for their tuxes. At least everyone will be clothed!
On August 1st, Becca Gilkeson and Lauren Strawderman threw Matt and me a wonderful shower in Harrisonburg. The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a wonderful time. Bridesmaids Jennifer and Blythe, and Blythe’s mom Susan made the trip for the shower and it was great to see them. Thanks again Becca and Lauren!
Beyond wedding stuff, Matt and I stayed pretty busy. Jared came up to visit in mid-July and we took in a Nationals game in DC. It was only my second game at their new stadium, and Jared’s first major league baseball game. Also in July, Matt and I saw Green Day live at the VerizonCenter in downtown DC. It was the second time seeing them live for both of us, and it was an unbelievably great concert.
In August, Matt and I were both keeping the road hot traveling. I spent four days in Houston, TX in mid-August for the annual Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Seminar (HOBY) Training Institute. Each year, HOBY International hosts two representatives from each state for the national training conference. It’s been in Houston for the past several years, and I was fortunate enough this year to help represent Virginia. I also traveled to Nashville, Tennessee the following week on a work trip. I think in the future I’m going to try and plan my trips south in a cooler month than August! Matt also traveled several times this month for work – to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Jacksonville, North Carolina. We are both becoming quite accomplished travelers – I even went through the “Expert Traveler” lane when flying to Nashville!
The next few months will be full, but hopefully not too busy. We have several follow-up meetings with vendors to cross off our list, as well as some final details to attend to. Everything seems to be falling into place, so keep your fingers crossed that the trend will continue.
To close, I wanted to give a couple of shout-outs. First, I wanted to give a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom! She and my dad are coming up to visit this weekend for her birthday, and I’m really looking forward to it! HAPPY BIRTHDAYalso to Ms. Jennifer Taylor. Her birthday is today.
I also wanted to give a big CONGRATS to Blythe – she and her boyfriend Chris got engaged at the end of June! They are planning a wedding late next spring. Finally, I wanted to also say CONGRATS to my good friend Leah who also recently got engaged. I believe Leah and her fiancé Martin are also shooting for spring nuptials.
I hope you all are well! Hopefully Matt or I one will update again before the wedding!!
Lauren has been swamped (understatement) with school also, whether it is an outline, brief, or researching the elements of negligence (duty, breach and causation). Her words, not mine! She is charging forward, midway through her first semester.
