This is the second year that Connie has been living in Huntsville. We just finished moving from a studio apartment to a one bedroom because Meade has been spending more time in Huntsville and having more room will make it more comfortable. It was amazing how much stuff we had to managed to have in a studio apartment. But we got the move done in about 24 hours. But boy were we exhausted. We'll also be moving Caylith our last cat from Hernando to Huntsville in January. This way Meade won't need to go back to Mississippi as often.
Connie went to two concerts this year. The Miranda Lambert, Chris Young and Jerrod Neiman concert at the Von Braun auditorium in Huntsville and the Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker and Thompson Square concert at the Snowden Grove amphitheater in Southhaven, Mississippi. Both of them were very good.
Connie is now a International Council of Systems Engineer (INCOSE) Certified Systems Engineer Professional (CSEP). She had to have three referrals and pass an exam. The hope is that if the defense budget cuts should impact her current job this certification will help her stay employed. Hopefully, it won't be necessary but it certainly can't hurt.
We went to Las Vegas to stay at our timeshare for the first time. It is a very nice place. Connie spent a lot of time at the pool relaxing and reading a lot of books. The biggest excitement for her was going to the Thunder Down Under male revue. It was definitely entertaining and the women in the audience were absolutely nuts. The guys are real hunks and spend a lot of time out in the audience. One of them even kissed her on the cheek. Meade played poker and video poker. He got his first royal flush at video poker in a several years.
We also got a national park passport. It's neat because it lists all the different national parks, battlefields etc and you stamp your passport when you visit them. We've been to several this year in Alabama and Mississippi.
We also took a 2 hour train trip in Huntsville. We were happy to see the train car was older than we are. We spent a weekend in a cabin on the lake at the local Joe Wheeler state park.
We've joined the YMCA. Connie attends a weekly yoga class that she is really enjoying. She also swims three days a week. Both she and Meade lift weights twice a week. The YMCA has the Fitlinxx system which hooks the weight machines into a computer so it helps make sure you make the right motions at the right pace. It has helped keep Connie motivated to do the weights. SAIC even pays $300 a year for the dues. Connie also walked a 5K benefiting epilepsy research with some girlfriends from work.
Connie signed up with Massage Envy. It is a membership for a monthly massage for a good price ($59) and she can get additional massages in a month for $39. She's always loved massages and used to have one a month in Orlando. She had tried a few massage therapists in Huntsville but had yet to find one she wanted to see regularly. Connie is trying each of the therapists at Massage Envy to find her favorite.
Connie's Mom came and visited for 5 days in the spring. They kept busy. The highlights included going to the Lost Baggage facility in Scottsboro Alabama. Connie got two pairs of earrings and 5 shirts for $20. They also went to the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg Tennessee and several restaurants in the area that Connie wanted to try.
We've finally moved into the 21st century and gotten a Garmin GPS for the car. We have the Australian accent selected. Her name is Mathilda. We get a kick out of listening to her give us directions, especially when we purposely go a different way and she keeps trying to get us back on the path she wants. We figure by the end of 2013, we'll probably have a smart phone. It's pretty amazing that we had a car phone (big bulky one) as soon as they came out but we're dragging our feet upgrading from our little flip phones.
We went on a cruise this fall on Carnival. We left from Port Canaveral and went to their private island and to Nassau and Freeport. We only got off the boat at the private island. Connie went parasailing. It was great. She has wanted to do it for ages and finally did.
Lee and Jessi are still together. It will be two years in February. Lee had to have another pilondial cyst removed. The surgery went well but it took him five weeks to recover fully.
Next year we'll be going on a 7 day cruise out of Port Canaveral for Connie's mom's 80th birthday. Connie's brother and his wife and daughter, Lee and his girlfriend Jessi and Connie's brother-in-law will be coming along. It should be fun.
We're still playing fantasy football. Meade is doing real well this season but Connie's team has stunk. Meade's NFL Dolphins are still in the hunt for the playoffs while Connie's Tennessee Titans are no longer in the running.
We're still playing World of Warcraft regularly. If you play, look for us on the Winterhoof server our main characters are Gilak, Mythosdad, Mythosmom, Mythosdadtoo, Mythosmomtoo, Soyo, Mythosmommy. Lee's characters all start with Mythos and we wanted to show our connection :)
Feel free to friend Connie on Facebook (Connie Greco Gryder) if you haven't already.
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a great 2013. We'd love to hear the details on how your year has been.
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