Pet Sitting

I am so excited that I had to blog about this! A few months ago, right after the new year, I scratched and scratched my brain for something I could do that would bring in a little extra cash flow (without actually getting a part-time job.) I have some major credit card debt that I need to pay off and my goal is to have it paid off by the age of 30... only 9 more months to go! Yikes.

I came up with pet sitting as my 'side business.' Whenever I went out walking in the neighborhood, I always saw dogs out and about running around in their fenced-in yards. It was the perfect opportunity I thought. So I made some really cute flyer's, tied them with adorable paw print ribbon, and passed them out to every single mailbox in the Buckhead Forest neighborhood.

Well weeks passed, and then it was months, and I didn't hear a word... until last week. I got my first pet sitting phone call. My flyer's worked!! But, unfortunately I was going out of town for Jenny & Ben's wedding in Brasstown Valley. I had to say no to my very first customer. I'll admit, it was completely devastating. I didn't want to let him down... he was my 'in' for the entire neighborhood.

We got off the phone and I immediately emailed him my pet references that I said I had, really my friends who have dogs (so I fudged a little,) a pet friendly price list I designed, and told him I would be more then happy to help in the future.

I didn't hear anything back and thought it was a little odd I didn't even get a "thank you," or "it was nice talking to you, too"... but what I did get back completely made up for it.

Ever since I passed out those flyer's with my contact information, I have checked this email address daily for months now and haven't received a SINGLE piece of mail... until yesterday. I couldn't believe it, he responded to my previous email and he needed me to pet sit this coming weekend. It was completely exhilarating seeing new mail in this account! I am going to be in town and I have my very first pet sitting job.

Needless to say, I hope that this weekend goes off without a hitch. I will be pet sitting "Sammy" and can't wait to see how it goes. I will be sure to blog all of the details.

p.s. If anyone is interested in Christin's Pet Sitting Co., please email me at christinsits@gmail.com :)

Mary Poppins and the Fabulous Fox

There is a sense of excitement when going to see a theater or Broadway show. My Mom loves to see shows and as a little girl I always remember her taking me. She would dress me up in my Sunday best, drive us into the city, and we would go to the theater together. It must run in the family because I know my Grandmother loves to take the bus into New York City as often as she can to catch Broadway shows with her friends. She and my Mom have seen several shows together and so have my mom and I. We've seen The Nutcracker numerous times, The Sound of the Music, A Christmas Carol, Jersey Boys recently, and just yesterday, I took her to see Mary Poppins at the Fabulous Fox!

I bought her the tickets for Mother's Day and for the first time, I was going to take my Mom to the theater. I have to admit, at the age of 29, I felt all grown up! We went down early to enjoy a nice dinner at Baraondo Cafe Italiano, which is just one block north of the Fox Theatre. We shared a yummy bottle of Prosecco and topped it off with a delicious brick oven pizza.

We finished our meal and were off the theatre just in time for our show. I love the old world and classy feel the Fox has... it's just beautiful. I even love the old sinks in the bathrooms (weird, I know) but they make you feel like you are in another time, a simpler time. It makes me happy.

Our seats were great and so was the show. I loved watching the Mary Poppins movie as a little girl and loved seeing it live. The singing and dancing were fantastic! My favorites were "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (whew!) and "Chim Chim Cher-ee" with the newly adapted "Step in Time." They had a great choreographed tap dance number along with this song, it was very energetic. And she really does fly, very exciting!

All in all, it was a wonderful theater experience and lovely evening together. I hope my Mom enjoyed it as much as I did. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Fishcamp

This weekend was a perfect one to go to Lake Allatoona. It's located in northwestern Georgia on the Etowah River and is mostly in Cherokee and Bartow Counties. It is run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was built in the 1950's.

Darin and Ashley (my brother and sister-in-law) purchased a boat a few years ago and then decided to go for the old Army Corps trailer a couple of years ago. They have put a lot of time and effort into the remodel... and it turned out AWESOME! It's no mansion, so we call it Fishcamp. The renovation came complete with a new kitchen, new bathroom, hardwoods, and a kegerator, that's right, a kegerator!

It's located on a beautiful lot of land right on the water and it is the perfect one hour getaway...

I love coming here because it's all about having fun, relaxing, spending quality time together, boat rides and grillin' some good food. No need for high heels or even a hair dryer here. It's all about flip flops and hops!

Saturday, we took a boat ride to Illinois Creek and anchored the boat for a couple of hours. Illinois Creek a great spot to people watch, drink a few, take some dips, and 'noodle' around. It's very similar to Lake Lanier's Cocktail Cove.

(These two pics are from last year... it was way too cold to get in the water this weekend)

Their Mermaid, Dixie

Ashley and Dixie on the dock

Darin fishing on the dock Sunday morning

We accidentally caught a huge turtle on Sunday... and apparently, that means good luck for one year. We'll take it! (The turtle was released, hook free!)

Sunday was Mother's Day so our parents came up to enjoy the COLD day on the lake! We had some weird (and unwanted) coldfront come through, but what can you do... except enjoy it as much as you can! So we took a boat ride out to Little River, a great restaurant spot on the lake. You can just pull up, park your boat and enjoy a nice lunch on the water. The ride back was a little painful, but hilarious none the less.

I'm so excited that Spring and Summer are upon us. I cannot wait to spend many more weekends at Fishcamp. I am so grateful to have this be my home away from home. Can't get much luckier than that. I'll take it!

Stamp Out Hunger THIS WEEKEND!!

I started this blog as a journal of sorts, a way to inform people of things that I've done, places I've gone or stories I would like to share. I also want to use it in ways that will benefit my local community and as an avenue to help others in need. I need to start finding useful ways for my time outside of work and I am starting today...

Stamp out Hunger is a nationwide food drive organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service, Campbell's and Feeding America. It is the nation's largest single-day food drive, which has collected more than 982 million pounds of food every second Saturday in May for the past 17 years. To donate food this weekend, all you need to do is place non-perishable food products in a bag and leave it by your mailbox THIS Saturday, May 8th 2010. Your local mail carrier will deliver the bags to local food banks or pantries in your area. That's it! It's that easy!

To help spread the word about Stamp Out Hunger, please go online to http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/ to download and post flyer's around your office and/or neighborhoods, or send an automatic email to your contacts from their website.

Please also become a fan on Facebook or Twitter and Campbell's will donate one can of soup to Feeding America.

If you would like to learn more about this cause, please log onto http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/

THANK YOU FOR DONATING!

*Please do not donate items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Adam & Jess's Wedding

This past weekend Adam and Jessica celebrated their nuptials. I didn't go to high school with them (they're from PTC) but knew their story from friends, heard it again at the wedding, and wanted to share! They dated and first fell in 'love' when they were in the 9th grade but had to break up because Adam and his family got relocated to Florida with his Dad's job. Fortunately for the both of them, the Graham's soon returned to Peachtree City one year later... but Adam & Jess didn't get back together. They became 'just friends.' They both went to the University of Georgia but even still, remained 'just friends.' It wasn't until New Year's Eve of 2006 (turning 2007) that their relationship turned back into one full of true love... and they've been together ever since!

It was a very special weekend for them and I truly enjoyed being a part of it. I've decided that having your date be in the wedding is the best case scenario... you get the fun of being a big part of the wedding without the responsibility (or the cost!) of actually being in the wedding. To be able to enjoy the rehearsal dinner with their closest family and friends is truly an honor and something that I am very thankful for. I really enjoyed it and enjoyed the company of both of their wonderful families and friends!

The rehearsal dinner was Friday night at Maggiano's in Buckhead and the ceremony and reception were at Little Gardens in Lawrenceville. Rain threatened us all throughout the day, but lucky enough for Adam & Jess, there were blue sky's when it came time for the "I do's!" They were able to have the wedding outside in the beautiful garden just as they had hoped.

Matt & Jennifer (Brother of Groom)

Allison & Matt (Sister of Groom)

Tyler and Me

Josh (Brother of Groom) and his hot date!

Ansley (Matron of Honor) & Jess

Some of the gals...

Congratulations, Adam & Jessica!

It's Friday!

Turns out that I am one who lives for the weekends! I think that's the one thing about life's journey that I wasn't quite expecting... or ever really knew about. I guess that's because I've always had a history of working during the weekends.

Ever since the age of 15, when I started my very first job (Papa John's phone girl,) I always worked after school and on the weekends. When I was a waitress in college, I always worked after class and on weekends. And even since the full-time job I have now, I worked some nights and weekends at the mall. I think it was December of 2008 that I finally stopped working part-time.

I suppose I am now 'fortunate' enough to work the standard Monday through Friday 9am-5pm. But I have to say that I think it's a little boring! Maybe it's because I've never really had a set schedule and my weeks have become so predictable and routine...

I can't figure it out, because I do know that when those Friday's roll around, I am always happy to have the next two days OFF! So for that, I am thankful.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Lefty

Phil Mickelson is my favorite golfer and he truly deserved to win The Master's this year! I believe in my heart of hearts that he is just a stand-up guy...

These are comments from his press conference today on the photo of him wearing the Green Jacket at a doughnut shop the day after his Masters win:

"Well, throughout the week I don't eat a log of sugar or carbs or what have you, and my kids wanted doughnuts, and I said Monday morning we'll go to Krispy Kreme and grab some. We used to do that in san Diego on football Sunday; we'd go grab some doughnuts Sunday before the games. We don't have them over there anymore. That was their big thing. They wanted to go Monday morning, so I threw on a jacket (laughter) and went through the drive-thru."

LOVE IT!

"Local Food"

Tyler and I have become notorious for not being able to make a decision when it comes to deciding what's for dinner. We'll get in the car and drive until we come across something that seems just right - perfect atmosphere for our moods and great food for our bellies. We drove for over an hour once... ridiculous you say? You could say that but when we aren't in any sort of hurry, it seems normal.

We were on our way to what we thought was going to be the Highlands, not on purpose, but just because we were heading in that general direction. While we were at the intersection of Briarcliff and La Vista, we saw a little neighborhood joint called Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ. We've passed it a few times, and each time, have said to each other that we needed to try it - so yesterday, we did. We're suckers for local dumps that look 'pretty cool' from the outside.

This place was no dump and was truly a delicious gem! It wasn't tradidional barbecue like you would think. Having never been to Hawaii or ever eaten the food, I thought for sure it was going to be the standard shredded pork with some type of Hawaiian pineapple sauce instead of the conventional barbecue sauce. It turns out I was completely wrong. It was more of what I would consider Asian food.

Hawaiian "barbecuing" is considered "grilling." Their food is an East-West Pacific mix that was created in the 1920's by local lunch wagon cooks and small restaurants in the area. Plantation immigrants were brought to Hawaii from places like China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines. With each new wave of culture came the plants and animals from those native lands. So their food has been influenced by numerous cultures over the years and was constantly changing with every new wave. It is a very unique cuisine created from a very diverse background.

It eventually developed into what they now call "Local Food." A typical Local Food plate consists of rice and meat covered in gravy, served with salt seaweed or chili peppers, sesame oil or soy sauce. Gravy is pretty much Teriyaki sauce and so is Hawaiian "ketchup." Not so sure I would put that one on the the burger, but I guarnatee you it's delicious!

Overall, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ and loved learning about the food. The restaruant has been around since June 2006 and is about to celebrate 4 years in Atlanta. It was such a friendly and warm environment that I hope to go back to soon. The only other Hawaiian restaurant in Atlanta that I'm aware of is Roy's in Buckhead but I hear it's overpriced and not quite as yummy. Check out http://www.waikikie.com/ to learn more... Mahalo!

The MASTERS

The Master's golf tournament is always the first full week in April and Tyler has gone every single year he has been alive, including the one when he was in his Momma's belly! I was lucky enough to get the chance to go with him last year for the first time and can I just tell you... it is absolutely breathtaking! I did not grow up a golf fan but quickly become one after visiting Augusta National. I was able to go again this year and enjoyed it just as much!

Seeing Green

March is my favorite month of the year... St. Patrick's day and my Birthday all rolled into one! It also actually means that it's time for Chicago! It has become an annual tradition over the past few years to make the trip to Chi-town with Kelly and her family. We first went in March 2008 and have been going every year since (this was our third time). Kim joined us this year and I hope she makes it a tradition, too!

I've only ever been in the month of March but hear that the summer months are only better, which is hard to imagine since the winter there is such a blast. Chicago is such a beautiful and FUN City, the food is amazing and the people are incredibly nice. If you ever get the chance to go - DO IT!

February

February 2010 was pretty uneventful.... it was too cold out!

I know it's spring now and not exciting to talk about the cold and snow, but we actually had THREE snowfalls here in Georgia this year and the one on Valentine's weekend was gorgeous! Things closed down pretty early that Friday afternoon so it was great to enjoy a nice long weekend.

Tyler and I celebrated Valentine's Day with a great brunch at Restaurant 57th {http://www.the57threstaurant.com/} located at PDK Airport. The restaurant is actually located directly next to the runway and has great views of all the small airplanes coming and going. When you walk into the restaurant, you feel like you just walked into the year 1942. They have the best beer cheese soup in all of America - it's worth it to go just for that!

After brunch we went to the Atlanta History Center{http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/}and were also able to take a tour of Atlanta's Historic Swan House which was gorgeous.

If you haven't done these things in and around Atlanta, it's pretty neat and I highly recommend all of it!

I Heart NYC!

I want to give a quick recap of 2010 so far... here is January.

Tyler and I traveled to New York City in late January to suprise one of his very best friends, Ben (Landis) for his 30th Birthday. We visited them (Ben & Melissa) in July of last year and had THE BEST TIME! I fell in love with the city and wasn't ready to leave. Ben's now fiance, Melissa and I became fast friends. They got engaged in November of last year and will be married in September.

Ben had no idea we were going to be there for his Birthday so he was very suprised and Melissa was especially excited that she pulled it off! She can't keep secrets very well, but this one was safe. She told him she was feeling very sick and that they should just stay in and order some food. So when Ben's "Thai" (ler) came to the door, he didn't know what to do!

It was freezing there, but we had a blast as expected. We were able to visit so many different places in so many different parts of the city... the West Village, Soho, Times Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side and much more!

I can't wait for another trip to NYC and can't wait to see Ben and Melissa again. NYC is a very special place for me. I just LOVE IT!

Hello World!

Ok, so I borrowed that from Tiger Woods' E! True Hollywood Story last week... which I thought was pretty weak, actually. Not nearly as juicy as I thought it was going to be (or should have been).

I discovered recently that blogs are not just for the newly engaged, married, and/or those with adorable children. I have been stumbling across blogs from all people from all walks of life. There are certainly those about wonderful families, new babies, couples beginning their life together... but there are also blogs about single, working gals (and males) in this world, trying to make a living and trying to just make sense of it all. I think we're all trying to "figure it all out", aren't we? So here I am on a random Tuesday afternoon creating a blog while I should actually be working.

I've decided to call this the ATL Gal... a basic blog about a single (with boyfriend, just not married) 29 year old female living in the ATL trying to make sense of it all. I will write about things that I've done, things that I plan to do, goals I have, life's lessons learned, note to self's, etc. This will be a journal. A place for me to make ideas and thoughts concrete, a place to post opinions and hopefully learn a little bit more about myself while doing so.

I certainly don't claim to be a writer in the least. This is for fun... and for honesty. I want to be 100% honest with myself and all of you... all the two readers I may come across. So please enjoy, feel free to comment, post ideas, tell me how terrible my ideas are, think I'm really weird and strange, or just read along for your pure boredom cures... make of it whatever you want!