akonthego

Camping with the Lees

2011-06-26T13:24:00.000-06:00

I guess while I work on my new site I still have access to this one so here is a special camping post just for you. Last weekend we had scheduled our first camping trip. We had all the supplies and were prepared to leave Friday evening. Well Adam ended up having to work until 9:00pm so we had to go Saturday. Well Saturday afternoon this happened.

Standing at the end of our driveway.

That's right. A forest fire started in the mountains we were planning on camping in. So we called the ranger and asked him about his recommendations. He said it was fine and the fire was moving away from us. If anything changed they would come to the campsite and let us know. So we decided to give it a try since it was only 7 miles away. We could always come home if the smoke was bad. It was a little eerie driving at this.

We got up to the mountain and there was no smoke at all. So we continued our adventure. We forgot exact cash so we had to break change from some people from Wisconsin. We were prepared for almost everything. We found a place to set up and started building our tent.

Our new tent!

It was already getting dark by the time we set up so we took a quick walk and tucked in for the night. I'm pretty sure we're the only people who would bring meats, cheeses and wine for dinner when camping.

Everything was off to a great start. We got to watch the stars come out one by one and it was awesome to be out the fresh air. Then we realized that there was no way Watson was going to go to sleep. Our tent is almost entirely mesh so Watson could see and hear all around him. He made it his personal mission to stay up all night and warn us if any bug or leaf was coming to close. Needless to say it was a long night.

After we watched the sunrise we threw everything in the car and went home. We slept for five more hours and started our day. We were way too tired to carry out our original plan of waking up and going on a 3 hour hike. Lessons learned. We're camping again on the way to Minnesota this week. Wish us luck!

FYI-Blog will be down

2011-06-19T13:24:00.000-06:00

Hello Loyal Followers,

Starting in the next hour and lasting for up to a week akonthego.net will be down. I am switching over to wordpress and adding a bunch of new features to the blog. Depending on how smooth the transition is it may be up in the next few days. I will be tweeting in the meantime and have set an ultimate deadline for myself to have it back up by Monday June 27th.

I can't wait to share with you the next chapter for akonthego.

Katie

Could these ears Get any bigger?

2011-06-18T09:42:00.000-06:00

Weekend with the Neighbors

2011-06-15T17:12:00.000-06:00

This past weekend our neighbors brought some friends up with them. We ended up spending almost the entire weekend with them. We LOVE our neighbors. The weekend started with a glass of wine in the sunshine. We had to wait for their guests to arrive a little later before going to the Brewery for dinner. On Saturday we all walked to Sage Bake House for breakfast. Yum! We walked through the artists market on our way. It is literally across the street from our house.

The morning was so beautiful that we just had to walk through the Farmers Market. On the way we got to see the beautiful blooming flowers.

The Farmers Market is blooming itself. It gets bigger every weekend. I love how it smells and I of course love the samples.

I came across a little boy playing a violin. I stopped to be polite, but then realized he was really talented. Take a listen.

After the Farmers Market Adam and I split up and spent the afternoon doing our own thing. Adam chose to bike 11 miles going to garage sale after garage sale all throughout the city. I decided to sit on the front patio with a book, some magazines and peaches. I think I made a wise choice.

Once we got together again we decided to finally head to C. G. Higgins around the corner. We wanted to bring fudge and nuts to dinner that night. When we got there we ran into our neighbors doing the exact same thing! Great minds think a like. Watson loved his dog treat there and we picked up tons of goodies.

That evening we went back over to Mark and Deb's for a buffet of cheeses, meat and fruit. We brought the wine and fudge. It was amazing! The six of us stayed up way too late eating, laughing, drinking and talking about life. It was so fun. During the evening I found myself thinking about how lucky we are to move around. By doing so we get to spend our evenings with two very interesting couples from Amarillo, TX. Fun times!

Sunday is pretty much unmentionable. We learned our lesson that we need to do at least one fun activity otherwise we get completely bummed out. The only fun part was watching the NBA Finals.

This weekend....CAMPING!

He is too cute!

2011-06-13T16:05:00.000-06:00

Can't get enough of this little bugger.

2011-06-12T15:29:00.000-06:00

What's for Dinner?

2011-06-10T15:02:00.000-06:00

When we don't want to cook this is typically what we have for dinner.

Such a remote hog!

2011-06-09T15:10:00.000-06:00

Our house is complete....for now.

2011-06-08T13:42:00.000-06:00

Having guests come was exactly the push we needed to finish unpacking, decorating, and cleaning. It was not nearly as easy since I've been working this whole time. We are so pleased with the result and now this really feels like a home. It's so comfortable and perfect for our lifestyle. We LOVE it!

Welcome to our Home!

Entering the living room.

My new home office...as of Sunday.

Our very low maintenance and private backyard.

AKA: Watson's hangout

View of living room, and Watson, from back door.

Guest room with everything that didn't fit somewhere else.


We love our Kitchen!

It's Summertime!

2011-06-07T15:30:00.000-06:00

We Got a New Camera!

2011-06-06T16:21:00.000-06:00

And it allows us to take pictures like this...

This was the very first picture I took and I think it's the best.

...and this...

and of course, this.

Day Three- Dog Park Adventures

2011-06-05T14:25:00.000-06:00

After our first two days were more lively we decided to relax the next two. Our biggest activities involved eating and going to the dog park. We love exploring and hiking out there. And we always meet tons of friends. Some try to steal Watson's stick, but it never works.

After the dog park we came home and cleaned up before heading to Chocolate Maven Cafe. Kristen and Andrew loved it and it was just as good as the time we went for our anniversary. Still one of my favorite places in Santa Fe. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and just hanging out. Adam and Andrew sat on the couch playing video games and Kristen and I sat on the front patio drinking Mimosas and catching up.

This was the progression of their afternoon.

Needless to say we were pretty excited to be having Mimosas outside on a sunny afternoon.

And so we did!

Day Two--Taos!

2011-06-04T19:27:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we dropped Watson off at the doggy camp and headed up to Taos. First we took a group picture with Zeke. Taos is up in the mountains and the drive alone is beautiful enough to make the trip. We had booked a half day white-water rafting trip in Pilar. We couldn't take our camera with but to see pictures of us just click here.

After rafting we drove into Taos for the best pizza in New Mexico. "Outback Pizza" is literally out back behind another shop. We devoured a 16'' pizza. It hit the spot after hours of paddling through really strong winds down the Rio Grande.

The Plaza in Taos.

Next we made the hour drive through the mountains to Ojo Caliente and the hot springs. The drive was way more adventurous than we anticipated and we're lucky our little Mazda could handle climbing up the mountain. The windy gravel roads and big bumps were well worth the views at the top.

Naturally we don't have any pictures of the springs spa. We basically just walked in with just our swim suits on and asked for some towels. It was really cool to sit in mineral springs right up against the mountain walls. It was such a relaxing way to end an adventurous day.

Welcome to Santa Fe, Kristen and Andrew

2011-06-01T20:03:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we drove to Albuquerque to pick up Kristen and Andrew. We were beyond excited!We haven't seen them since Christmas and we couldn't wait to show off our new city. We got to drive through big mountains and blue skies before reaching Santa Fe again.

When we got to Santa Fe we showed them around our house and before too long Adam and Andrew were off to the Brewery to fill up the Growler. The Growler is this big reusable jug that Adam fills up at 2nd Street Brewery. It's about 3 blocks away. Needless to say they were pretty excited. Our neighbors Mark and Deb were also in town for the weekend. So our first activity was sitting out in their front yard with beer, margaritas and cigars. It was beautiful weather and great conversation.

Since Kristen and Andrew had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning we all took a nap before dinner.

For our first meal we walked to a great restaurant called the Shed. It has delicious authentic New Mexican food and an awesome atmosphere. We all loved our meals and then we surprised Kristen with her birthday cake. Adam and Andrew dropped it off earlier in the day when they were "getting beer." She was completely surprised and it was so good.

It was a great first day!

Happy Birthday Kristen!

2011-05-27T12:58:00.000-06:00

Can't wait to meet you tomorrow!

Love, Watson.

Another weekend with the Lees

2011-05-26T21:58:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we ran around like crazy. We were both in good moods and we just kept going places. Mostly errands and some fun shopping. The weather was perfect for walking around town. We started with pastries at the Farmer's Market. We had the most delicious apple bear claw that actually looked like a bear claw. We went out to dinner with our fantastic neighbors, went to see "Bridesmaids" (HILARIOUS!) and went to the dog park on Sunday.

Since the area is so beautiful and there are mountains everywhere it's hard not to get in the rugged spirit. We've recently decided to take up camping. New Mexico has beautiful camp grounds and plenty of places to hike up to private camping areas. REI was having there annual sale so this was the perfect time to invest in a tent. They even let us set it up in the store to make sure we knew which one to get. We were so excited when we got home we set it up in the living room. Watson loved to step on it, but didn't want to come in. We eventually convinced him. We popped up some popcorn and watched "Eat, Pray, Love" while in our tent. I love camping!

Dog Cookies...We live in a very dog friendly town.

That's how far he got after coming home from the dog park. He was exhausted.

Our weekend VS. Watson's weekend

2011-05-16T18:05:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we didn't have any plans, but knew we had a lot of work to do at home and errands to run around town.....Watson knew he need a nap.

Our entire house is tile so we decided we needed to get some carpet for our living room. We went and found an amazing carpet remnant for $30! ...Watson took another nap.

Next we went and got lunch from our favorite place. Which is an old rail car that serves the best New Mexican food.

After taking Watson to the dog park we went home just in time for our carpet to be delivered. We put Watson outside while we rearranged the furniture. He took advantage of the warm sunshine.

Watson didn't want to step on it a first so he took a nap on the rug.

We got everything put back and the carpet is amazing! It makes the whole room brighter and more cozy. Watson finally decided to step on it and then didn't leave it for two days.

On Sunday it was so nice out we decided to plant our garden and clean up the back yard. Adam planted beans, I planted carrots and well, Watson took a nap.

After his many, many naps Watson had enough energy to play with us a little bit. On the carpet of course.

But eventually he got too tired and took yet another nap.

Ultimately our weekend started like this....

And ended like this...

AGM Baby!

2011-05-16T18:05:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Adam and I attended our second FAST Enterprises AGM (Annual General Meeting) This year it was at the JW Marriott in San Antonio Texas. And it was Awesome! Basically we had a way to much fun and were exhausted by the end of it. It was really great to hear what the company has accomplished this past year and what they hope to do in the future. For me it's really great to talk to other Fastee spouses. We can share stories about what it's like to move around with FAST and give each other support. I loved surrounding myself with other people who know the feeling of hearing your going to move and in a matter of a few weeks to a couple months packing up, moving, finding a home and unpacking. Over and over again. ;)

The resort was amazing. We loved the lazy river and the water slides. Most of all we loved going on a vacation that is completely planned for us and paid for.

Hanging out by the pool...

...before floating down the lazy river.

The formal.

Kristen taught me this game and we taught it to the entire company, but I won't post those pics. (You're Welcome)

The last night was family night and it was western themed. Obviously Adam and I did not get the memo.

It was really, really fun!

We found a long horn bull wondering around....so we decided to "pet" it.

Then ultimately ride it. Way to go Matt!

My new BFF Jen at the after party.

And finally some more pictures of the beautiful decor!

Happy 10 Year and 1 Month Anniversary

2011-05-16T16:28:00.000-06:00

To my beautiful sister and her husband Derek. That's right I said husband. 1 month ago today, to celebrate their 10 year anniversary, Heather and Derek tied the knot in a private ceremony. Followed shortly after by crab legs. They went to their favorite restaurant, got hitched then had dinner. So perfect!

Congrats you two!

How We Celebrate

2011-05-01T21:58:00.000-06:00

Since our Anniversary was on a Friday and we both had to go to work we celebrated in a few different ways.
I surprised Adam with a pancake breakfast. (after I watched the royal wedding.)

We went to our favorite hang out spot, The Flying Star Cafe for pie and magazines. Adam encouraged me to get cheesecake and then I found out why.

We had planned to celebrate our anniversary on Saturday by doing fun things all day and not cleaning the kitchen. (our least favorite activity) We started by going to brunch at the Chocolate Maven Cafe. Amazing! Brunch starts with amazing hot chocolate, then an appetizer of strawberry compote crepes.

Followed by our delicious New Mexican Breakfast. Yum!

Then we went to a sculpture garden where we could watch glass blowing.

After the sculpture garden we just drove up into the snow-covered mountains. Saw some deer, walked around, then drove back down.

But the best part was saved for last. We had reservations at Ten Thousand Waves Spa. Which is a Japanese Spa up in the mountains. I only have two pics because well, it's a spa.

This spa was the most amazing experience ever! We had a private natural pool, cold submerge pool and sauna. All outdoors in the fresh air, the three combined made us very relaxed. We got to sit in the pools for over an hour and a half sipping tea and relaxing. Then we each got masters massages. You can hang out on the grounds for as long as you want. After our massages we got to sit under the stars using the hot foot bath and drinking more tea. Even the showers and locker rooms were amazing. We'll probably take anyone who comes to visit there because it's just that great. Perfect ending to a great anniversary. Happy 10 years!

10 Years

2011-05-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

On Friday, April 29th, Adam and I celebrated 10 years together. Instead of writing a long post about how Adam's the love of my life and we're best friends and life rocks with him I thought I'd share 10 years worth of pictures of us. Just kidding, it's just a few pics. Enjoy!

8th Grade Ice Cream Social

Awkward lanky time in 9th Grade.

Summer 2005

College 2005

After our 1st 5K ever! 5th Anniversary-2006

Anniversary 2006-About to Walk to Loring Pasta Bar in the rain.

Sometime Sophomore Year.

Manzanillo, Mexico

New Years Eve, Jamaica, 2008

Anniversary 2009

Bergen, Norway 2009

Rome, Italy 2009

Florence, Italy 2009

Enough said...

Thankgiving 2009 after too many days apart.

New Orleans, LA

Mardi Gras

Napa Valley, CA Thanksgiving 2010

Bourbon Street...

Our first Christmas in our first home.

Our new baby Watson.

Baton Rouge one week before moving.

The exact moment we arrived in Santa Fe.

Dog Park in Santa Fe, April 2011.

Happy May Day!

2011-05-01T20:06:00.000-06:00

IT SNOWED!

I'm Employed!

2011-05-01T14:35:00.000-06:00

After a year and a half of searching for real work it took me two weeks to find work in Santa Fe. I ended up with two job offers on the same day which allowed me to choose the job I really wanted. I am now the Client Services Manager for a socially responsible investment firm here in Santa Fe. It's actually less than 1 mile from our house which will allow me to walk to work when the weather gets a little warmer. I just completed my first week of work and I loved it. It is exactly what I was looking for and the position fits well with our lifestyle. The office is very green and the hours are perfect. Plus there is ample room for growth with this company.

I feel so worthwhile now having a job. I have tons more energy and this week I have been the happiest I've been in a long time. Our checklist for a great life is near complete and finding a job was a big thing crossed off the list.

Now we just need to see our family and friends more.... ;)

Happy Easter Week!

2011-04-19T12:35:00.000-06:00

Flowers courtesy of Denny and Lori.

Eggs courtesy of Grandma Bev.

Courteous Watson is excited for his first Easter. His buddy Zeke is coming to visit for the holiday.

We are bike owners!

2011-04-19T12:26:00.000-06:00

Santa Fe is a very walk friendly and bike friendly town. In fact, Adam has been walking to work everyday since we moved into the house. He has wanted a bike for a few years now and on Saturday we finally got one. Now his commute is literally 10 minutes from the moment he stands up at his desk to when he walks in the front door.

Watson has tried to eat the bike, but was unsuccessful.