Tag: travel

ThemeConf in Keswick

I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at ThemeConf in Keswick, UK this last week. It was quite a trip; I think I covered all manner of modern transportation to get there — planes, trains, buses, and taxis — but the conference, the people, and the scenery made the journey worth it.

Black bean burger at the Lancrigg
ThemeConf in Keswick

The conference was generally about forward-thinking web development, with a bias toward WordPress. Attendance was small, but that made it more intimate and easier to socialize. I learned quite a bit from each presenter; the level of each talk reminded me of CSS Conf, but without the massive venue and hefty price tag.

As for Keswick itself, the town is adorable. Small enough to be walk-able, with lots of cute shops and restaurants. People had a lot to say about the weather, but I had no complaints; I got re-acquainted with my sweaters.

(I did not enjoy coming home to 80-degree temperatures and suffocating humidity, but that’s a different story.)

Boston!

We had a great time in the city last week, seeing the sights and hanging out with my brother and his fiancée.

Unfortunately there was no Comic Con for us, as Gillian Anderson canceled her appearance, but we had plenty to do; the aquarium and the science museum were big hits with Ellie, who demanded “more science!” Cheap tickets from a good friend meant we were able to stretch our budget, and the kids saw their first IMAX show.

But their favorite part of the trip was the Legoland Discovery Center. Most of the attractions are for little kids, but it was worth the price of admission just to see the city of Boston made entirely of LEGOs. Gwen plopped herself down in front of a bucket of bricks and basically didn’t budge until one of us prompted her to look around, while Ellie ran from activity to activity with glee.

We had lunch with E, the girls’ former sitter, and they were so excited to see her I thought they’d try to stow away in her car when we said goodbye. It’s amazing how a person can be part of your life for such a relatively small amount of time, but have such a great impact. I keep coming back to how lucky we are — and how lucky the girls are — to have the village we’ve had.

I only wish so many of our family and friends didn’t live a 7+ hour drive away. Ahh, the price we pay for living in the boonies. 😉

Automattic Grand Meetup 2014

Tim and I spent last week in Park City, Utah, for our company’s annual grand meetup. After much discussion, laughter, food, and games, I am feeling both energized and exhausted by the experience — a pretty common post-meetup feeling.

Couple on a plane selfie
Season 1 Agent Scully demonstrates how to access your life vest…
Landed in Salt Lake City!
Not a bad location
Cute General Store in Park City
Construction
The Egyptian theater
Downtown Park City
Downtown Park City
Park City photo walk
Pyrex mosaic at Atticus Coffee
Pre-flash-talk! Eeep!
Beautiful clouds
The making of a company photo
Company photo, complete with drone?
Colorful amuse-bouche
Cami on a gondola
Chris on a gondola
Fun on a mountainside
View from the top
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
(Un)synchronized WordPressing
Cards Against Humanity
Park Silly Sunday
Park Silly Sunday

radio silence

I’ve been working on a post about fanfic writing and how that’s coming along, but it’s pretty uninspired. Ironic, given I’m feeling otherwise inspired about writing; I guess writing about writing is too meta for my muse.

Pink shirt!The last month has been a bit crazy with travel, which is why the blog has been quiet. After Miami in May, Tim traveled to Saratoga Springs for a week, then I had a barely-two-day fling with Florida, this time for CSS Conf.

The conference itself was great, but the next time I say I’m going to fly to the opposite end of the country for a one-day conference, and fly back at 6 the next morning, just slap me. I’m claiming brain damage from a too-long winter and sunlight deprivation, because who in their right mind takes a “day-trip” across the country and back with two connections? Me, apparently.

But I did get a bright pink t-shirt out of the deal, so I’m calling it an overall win.

Haircut!This week, Tim’s galavanting around in Scotland with our colleagues while I try to work around the kids, both of whom are home for the summer. This amounts to 100% less getting up at ungodly hours to get Ellie on the bus (win), and 100% more whining about all the random things five-year-olds whine about (lose). This is the part where I thank my lucky stars for our amazing nanny and the abundance of parks within driving distance.

Oh, and Ellie got a haircut!

As for the two-year-old, she’s requested Cheez-its for breakfast every morning for the last month.  “Accept no substitutes” is Gwen’s motto, and she applies it liberally to every aspect of her life. That tells you pretty much everything you need to know.

Meanwhile, I’ve discovered the joys of cold-brewed coffee, and am dominating the DVR with David Duchovny movies and old X-Files episodes since Tim’s not here to roll his eyes at my weird and/or obsessive taste.

Hello, Miami

Sandy feet on South Beach
Tammie and Michelle at Pubbelly Sushi
Ceviche at Books & Books Café

I just got back from six days in Miami for a work meetup with our squad. This is the first squad event I’ve planned, so I was a bit nervous — mostly about the location, and driving in the city. Thankfully both things worked out (as they usually do).

Sausage tree
South Beach apartments
Ocean Drive

The hotel wasn’t anything special, but it was affordable, clean, the internet worked, and there were a few restaurants and a Starbucks within walking distance.

We drove through the city and out to the South Beach area a couple times, and I was a surprisingly calm and competent driver (this coming from the woman who learned to drive on teeny back roads, and a highway where you’re more likely to hit a moose than another car…) We would have been totally lost without Michelle, my trusty navigator.

South Beach at night
Ocean Drive
Miami style

The food was especially great; a big win, since we had an array of unique dietary requirements in our six-person group. Lots of Cuban and Latin influences, and a couple Japanese restaurants stood out (I have a newfound appreciation for sushi/maki after this trip). It was usually possible to find something for everyone, and a couple of the dinners were particularly amazing. We also did a food tour activity on the last day, and that was a hit.

Breakfast at Courtyard Marriot
Colorful tofu at Black Brick
Tuna tartare on crispy rice at Makoto
Cuban market
Crab roll at Pubbelly Sushi
Salmon Maki at Pubbelly Sushi
Bunniecakes
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Bunniecakes

And there was the beach! We spent a couple hours just hanging out in the sun. It’s been such a long winter, the ocean breeze and sub-tropical scenery were a welcome change.

Tammie’s beach time
Seafoam
Turquoise and blue
Beach time in Miami
Kathryn
South Beach

I completely forgot to take photos of everyone working; suffice it to say we did work, and you’ll see the results in the next couple weeks. All in all, it was a successful, engaging, and fun week.

With that in mind, I’m glad I don’t have to plan another one for at least a year. 🙂

Charleston in photos

In the Kitchen with TDIV
South Carolina, you are deceptively cold
Ice on a frond
Ice, so much ice
At least there was wine?
Lost TDIVians recovered!
Oh, we did.
One northerner’s introduction to the Bible belt
Gluttony isn’t a sin, right?
Brainstorming
Presentations in Charleston
Last day
Isle of Palms
Isle of Palms
Beach houses
Last day
Some kind of sweet tea vodka deliciousness
Spice taste testing
Southern charm
Slow-cooked pork belly
Theam dinner
Dixie Supply
The Cain Cluster Effect
Spices
Cute!
Because
Jim n’ Nick’s BBQ
More sweet tea vodka
Oh La La!
Salty Jack & and the Space Vixens
Lamp
Window boxes

Charleston was an adventure! We visited during the ice storm, so the area where we stayed shut down for two days, and the majority of our division’s European contingent got stranded in Florida/North Carolina due to flight cancellations. We spent a lot of time inside. I suppose when I wished for a winter trip to a warmer climate, I should have been more specific. It was warmer than Maine…but not by much. 🙂

That said, our team pulled together and made lemonade out of lemons. Sure, the lemonade may have been spiked with sweet tea vodka, but it was pretty damn delicious.

2013 in review

London!

2013 was rough–stressful in both good and bad ways, and looking back I’m floored at the amount of stuff our family has been through. There’s been travel, moving, new additions, injuries, and work–we’ve run the gamut, and I’m proud of all of us for making it through with relative good humor and patience. Hopefully 2014 will go a little easier on us.

A rough timeline of events:

  • A work trip to Hawaii in January made for a picture perfect start to the year
  • In April, we adopted Atticus. I had no idea one puppy could be so much work! But he is a sweetheart, and he’s calmed down quite a bit since we first brought him home. He likes to lay on my feet on the couch at night while I write or work.
  • In May, I traveled to Italy for work. Our team stayed in a rustic countryside villa in the hills outside of Florence, which was as amazing as it sounds.
  • We sold our condo in central Maine and moved north (the nearest Starbucks is in Canada, if that tells you how far north we are), back to my childhood home, to be closer to family. Easily one of the best decisions we could have made. The girls are thriving, and we’re loving all this space.
  • Gwen turned two in September, and boy, did she ever turn two. She owns her two-ness. She climbs, she runs, she’s maniacally happy and sad in one breath, she’s persistent and driven, and she wants to do everything by herself. Yep, definitely two.
  • Speaking of Gwen, we had that burn accident in September, which landed her in the hospital for three days and scared us all pretty badly. Thankfully everything turned out OK, we held it together, and she came out mostly unscathed. Though now she likes to tell everyone, “Mama spill hot coffee on my monkey shirt! Hurt. I cry.”
  • Another trip, this time to San Francisco and Santa Cruz for the Automattic company meetup.
  • We were without regular internet access until November, which made things difficult for working at home, but we managed. Got pretty familiar with the very few free wi-fi spots in town, and drank a lot of Tim Horton’s coffee.
  • I wrote not one but two novel-length pieces of X-Files fanfic, completing my first NaNoWriMo! Woohoo! I’m in the process of publishing the first novel here.
  • November also marked my second European trip of the year, this time to London, and I really want to go back; I feel like I could have spent weeks there.
  • I worked a lot. I may have spent more time in pajamas than is considered socially acceptable. I continue to marvel at how lucky I am to work with the people I do, and to get paid to do the stuff I do. From home. In my pajamas with the Ninja Turtles on them. Yeah. I love my job.
  • I struggled with depression, and it took a lot of time and convincing for me to acknowledge it, but with help from an SSRI and therapy, I’m ending the year from a happier, more balanced place.
  • Ellie turned five in December, which feels like a personal milestone for me. When she was a newborn, I remember thinking of five as some magical, mystical age in the distant future, and now it’s here, and I am so proud of my smart, funny, beautiful little girl. She drives me crazy, but I love her to pieces and I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring.

Upcoming in 2014? More travel. Potty training (redux). More fanfic writing. Working. Family. And hopefully a happier, more positive outlook on the whole.

London in photos

This post is only two months late in coming, but I had the good fortune to spend a week in London for work back in November. Here are some highlights, including yummy food, sights, and pics from a street art tour:

Could be a while…
Street art tour
Street art tour
London!
Locks
Brew Dog
Pink
Flats
Sage advice
Brick lane
Leicester Sq.
Beef Bourginoun
Kathryn with tea
Chinatown
Mozilla offices
Cute coffee
Chinatown
World’s End
cappucino
Yum!
“Juicy bits”
Limoncello
Big Ben
Westminster
The Eye
Carousel
Big Ben
London at night
Mind the Gap
English breakfast
Underground
Telephone booth
Pastries
Boys!

san francisco/santa cruz

I almost missed this trip due to Gwen’s burn incident, anticipating her recovery would be more intense than it was. Since she was fully healed a week after the incident, I decided to go at the last minute.

It was a great trip; I enjoyed seeing my colleagues again, and meeting many of the new people we’ve hired since last year’s meet up. The week was split between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, and while I did a couple activities, I mostly socialized, worked, and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery:

San Francisco
Mocha!
Land’s End Lookout
Trolley!
Hello, Golden Gate
Sunset over Santa Cruz
Dream Inn
Buttercup Cakes
The Penny Ice
Santa Cruz victorian
Photo of a company photo in progress
Early morning
Fire dancers
The fog rolls out