Happy Birthday Izzie!

Today is Izzie's first birthday!!! Happy Birthday Izzie! I can't believe my little girl is one! For her birthday, Izzie had her first spa day. Ok, not really, but she was in need of a haircut so she took her first trip to the groomer and got a bath, haircut, and her nails trimmed. And she came home with a pink bandana. I'd call that a spa day for a pup. :) And she looks so cute!

It's actually both the pups birthdays, we just only know Izzie's birthday for sure. But Georgie turns 3 around this time of year too.

Toby's Bachelorette Party

It's finally time! I've been planning this bachelorette party forever! I haven't been in many weddings so this was my first time planning a party like this. The other bridesmaids were from out of town so I was mostly on my own. I think I did good but I was nervous to see how everything would turn out.

We met in the morning to spend a day at the vineyards. There were four of us for this part of the day and it was so much fun. There is a bus tour that leaves from Arlington and visits 3 different vineyards over about 7 hours. We went to La Grange, Chrysalis, and some other vineyard that we've all managed to block out because it wasn't so great. We did tastings at each vineyard and also had time to just hang out and talk. The scenery of course was gorgeous. We had wine and cheese and crackers throughout the day. I don't think I've eaten that much cheese all year. I think we did pretty good at the beginning of the day with pacing ourselves but by the third vineyard, I think we were just ready to get our drink on. We had a bottle of wine at the vineyard (after the tasting session) and then got another bottle to drink on the bus. Things got a little more fun after that. ;) I will refrain from embarrassing you here Toby- you better be grateful! Here's a pic of Alexis, me, Toby, and Alison at the vineyards.

After that, we headed to dinner at a little Italian place in Arlington called Tutto Bene. We had a separate room just for our party. It was nice not to have to worry about being too loud. The restaurant was great- good food, and they didn't hurry us out. We actually didn't even get the check until we asked for it at 11pm and they were closing! Toby opened gifts and we had cake. Check out the cake topper. Heehee.

We did have one strange incident with an Italian man who decided to come in to say hello and proceeded to give us a 10 minute lecture on the leaning tower of Pisa and the remodeling effort to keep it from sinking into the ground. It was really funny- we were all looking around at each other wondering when he would leave. One of the waiters had to pull him out, calling him their village idiot.

After dinner, Toby, Alison, and I went back to my house and we had a little slumber party. Even after the long day and all that wine, we managed to stay up until about 3am talking. I think the party turned out really well. I had so much fun and I think I can say the same for Toby. Now it's time for the wedding!

Stomach Bug

No idea how I got it, but I got a stomach bug while at Purdue. Thankfully, it was after the career fair but Tuesday night was fairly miserable. I was up all night getting sick. My coworker didn't get it so I knew it wasn't food poisoning. I made it home and to the doctor and apparently I picked up a bug. It took an entire week to go away and I had consistent stomach pains while I waited for it to end. Not so fun. I would name my bug except I don't think mean things get names, not nice ones anyway.

Purdue

I went back to Purdue for the first time since graduation to help with recruiting for my company. It was a little weird to be back. It really hasn't been that long since graduation and yet it seemed different in many ways. First of all, everyone looks so young! Did I look like that? I know I must have, but wow- they're babies!

Most of the major things were the same- the main bars like Jake's and Harry's, the bell tower, and the engineering fountain. But Pizza King is gone, replaced by Hot Box Pizza. What the hell is that? The Memorial Union is being remodelled. The lower level had all of the food places and they were all fairly unique, not chains. The design of the seating areas was made to look like the inside of a train. It's all been ripped out. I think that was the saddest part to me- I don't necessarily think that making things more modern is a good thing and I can only assume they will rebuild with a more modern look. To me, it seems more like losing a piece of the school's history. The I.E. (Industrial Engineering) school has also changed. Two of my favorite professors aren't there anymore- one retired which I already knew about (Solberg) and one is just gone and I'm not sure where she went (Stuart).

There were a couple of changes that made me happy. I was very involved with I.E. when I was at school and it was good to see that Alpha Pi Mu is still active. When I (and all my I.E. buddies) were members/officers in APM, we started a student commons where I.E. students can go to study, have access to computers, etc. Well, I'm happy to report that the room has been updated with new furniture and looks really nice now. Also, Dan and I spent a fair amount of time creating a "Top Ten Reasons to be an IE" t-shirt. The APM team had updated the reasons and it's better than ever.

I travelled with a coworker. John and I spent Tuesday at the Industrial Roundtable (career fair), looking for students that might be good for internships or full time roles at Platinum Solutions. We met a lot of great candidates but I think we were passed over by some because we're such a small company that many students haven't heard of us. I could see the looks on some of the kids faces, like they were too good to work for such a small company. I have to laugh a little at that since I was once one of those kids. As a student, I went to the Accenture booth and other big name companies. It's not until you start working at those big companies that you realize that sometimes you can get a lot more from the small companies. I've grown so much more at smaller companies because I'm able to get involved in so many more aspects of the business. But I guess each person has to experience that for themselves to see what's right for them.

We had two evenings at Purdue and managed to eat at Bruno's Pizza both nights. It was my favorite pizza place near campus and John even liked it enough to go back the second night. I also managed to find a Steak n' Shake to get a milkshake. Best milkshakes anywhere and we don't have them here in DC.

I was able to meet up with my old college buddy, Melanie, on Wednesday for lunch before heading home. I haven't seen her in 2 years since our friend, Andy's, wedding. It was great to catch up. I wish I was able to see my college friends more- I miss you guys!

I stocked up on Boilermaker gear while I was there too. :) Go Boilers!!!