Mile High Hutcheson

I love birthdays! I think that is the one day each year you should be not only allowed, but encouraged to be as selfish as you want. Want to eat a full slab of bacon for breakfast? Go for it! Calories don't count on your birthday, either.

Tad loves birthday's, too. He even has his own programmed in his Blackberry to send him a reminder exactly at the stroke of midnight each May 15. I have always celebrated his special day with something grand. I was a bit stumped as to what I could do this year. Zoo Atlanta was having their annual benefit, THE BEASTLY FEAST May 15. That is Tad's favorite event each year. Looks like we were going to celebrate his special day with the monkeys and zebras. Bummer. I was going to have to figure SOMETHING out.

A couple of months ago, I was having breakfast with my dear friend, Holly and her husband Shawn at a little known place in Atlanta for stuffed biscuits (www.irwinstreetmarket.com), when in walks a man named JAKE. Jake. As in Jake of Jake's Ice Cream! Jake's Ice Cream (www.jakesicecream.com) is the most delectable treat you can have. Each batch is hand made. It is heaven in your mouth. We all get to talking about Tad's coming birthday, when it comes to me. ICE CREAM PARTY! WOOT! Tad loves ice cream! And Airplanes! And Cake! And his birthday! I name his ice cream on the spot: MILE HIGH HUTCHESON. I get my brother to design a logo so I can have aprons made for all the attendees. And a cake has to be made with the logo on it! Oh! and this has to be TOP SECRET!

Fast forward. Enlist his best friend, Michael to be the official decoy. Enter birthday weekend. The night before his birthday, we go to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. I make his his favorite breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes and bacon) for breakfast. I give him his gifts. Two ties. They were beautiful. While he was appreciative, I think he was a little sad that his birthday hadn't been blown out. Sorry, honey. Beastly Feast. We go to the event. It was nice.

Everything had been carefully orchestrated. Down to my friend Laura calling me precisely when we would be in the car on the way home from church to see if I wanted to go shopping. Michael pushing to have lunch with Tad after church. Perfect. He had NO clue! Off I go with Michael's wife, Correna and Laura to get set up. All the decorations had been placed at Laura's home for safe keeping.

Laura and Correna, decorators extraordinaire!

A still shocked birthday boy, Tad.

MILE HIGH HUTCHESON cake!

Chocolate with Raspberry

Tad with Jake in the kitchen!






Decisions, decisions!

First things, first. Tad had to decide what kind of ice cream he wanted to make. Ultimately, he decided on MOCHA flavored ice cream with MoonPies, peanut butter cups and walnuts mixed in, to craft MILE HIGH HUTCHESON.

MILE HIGH HUTCHESON creator getting his stir on!

"Man work" of chopping all the goodies.

MILE HIGH HUTCHESON creator in his hat, apron and flashing "It's My Birthday" pin.

Ice cream chicks

Official taste tester with the decoy, Michael

Tad's birthday was one that we will all remember and I am so glad we were able to surprise him! Thank you to all of our dear friends who helped keep the secret, celebrate with us and make him feel so special. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. And now, we have 362 days to figure out how to top this one........

Every Day Is Pay Day, Every Night Is New Years Eve

I have said it many times, but I really enjoy my job. It has afforded me incredible experiences, allowed me to meet really nice people along the way and made me value the important things in life.

My job can also be a place that is very lonely. I spend many hours locked in a small space with a person whose name I can't remember without looking down at the paperwork. Often times, my entire month can be spent with one person. This can be good or bad. I try not to subject anyone (professionally) to my antics for an entire month. You see, spending a month with a person (other than a spouse) can be exhausting. You end up either loving or loathing the person. Loving the person almost always entails dinners on the road, drinks and weight gain (at least for me - thanks for 10 lbs to JC and JW). Loathing leads to long months, too. Tad prefers that I love the person. He says I am miserable when I don't like who I am working with. Wouldn't you be? Confined in a small space with a person who tells you they don't like how you spin a knob or flip a switch? Seriously. Have been told both.

Enter Chris Jamison. I was supposed to fly with him all month. Seniority is everything in this game and he is #5. Could go either way. I do what is best for everyone, trade half the month away. Upon first introduction, I ask him how he's doing, to which his retort is "MAG-NIFICANT". Wow. Great first impression. And handle bar mustache. When we step into the cockpit and begin all the niceties, I am unsure. Career Navy. Those dudes generally hate young people and girls. So, I have that going for me. Then, he begins talking about his family, which he clearly adores. I have great regard for this guy. Then, he drops it on me "I have a vineyard in Northern Virginia". To which my retort is "and a new president of your fan club!". And we are off.

First trip: Great. Nice man. Easy to work with. Bought me dinner. He laughs. Both with me and at me. He is complimentary. He is nice to EVERYONE. I find myself looking forward to our next trip together.

Fast forward.

Trip #2 - I climb in the cockpit. He is there waiting for me and has all my work done. When I greet him, he says "look in your pubs bag" (the bag that holds all my important stuff). And when I open it, this is what I see:

Is this what I think it is?!

Chris goes on to tell me that he just bottled this. I carry it with me for 4 DAYS! I can't wait to open it! I am in heaven! We are going to have another great 4 days!!!

So, we have a fabulous trip, with great layovers and when we are parking the airplane for the final time of the week, he looks at me and says "if all trips were like this and all First Officers were like you then every day would be payday and every night New Years Eve". That just might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in an airplane.

So, meet Chris. If you see him, thank him for me and wish him a MAG-NIFICANT day!

Never Wake A Sleeping Giant

I like to ski. Rather, I think it better to say I LOVE to ski. I have skiing since I can remember. My first memories include holding on to my dad's calves at about age 3 while learning to keep parallel and snow plow. Moving on to a rope tow with my mom (that she loathed), and by the end of the day begging my dad to take me on a chair lift. Not one to ever say no to an adventure, he obliged and I had my first chair-lift ride and top to bottom ski. Wow. I was rewarded with a very concerned looking mother who had hot-chocolate at the ready. Good times. I am fortunate. I have skied around the world. As a kid, my parent's always fed into my desire and as an adult, I have been able to ski with both family and friends. Then, I got married.

Tad grew up in a non-skiing family. I know. I couldn't believe it either, and still said yes at the altar - with one condition - he take a lesson to see if he could learn to like something I love so much. He kept asking me why I like skiing so much. I was trying to come up with reasons to NOT like it. Then, I finally came up with something like "you are outside, enjoying nature, cruising down a mountain while listening to your ipod and getting a little exercise at the same time". Wasn't really the sell I needed. I also may have mentioned something about apres culture. Bad move again. I should have mentioned cigars at the end of the day. We probably could have gone for an entire week then.

At any rate, he agreed. We could go. I was so excited. Our friends Kris and Mark invited a few of us for a weekend at their home in Fraser, Colorado (home of Winter Park). I had to spring into action. This required lots of new "stuff" - mostly for Tad, but I did score a new FABULOUS hot pink jacket. I took him shopping to make sure that he liked his new duds. When I had him try on his ski pants, I made him sit all the way to the ground and stand up several times because I figured he would probably be spending a lot of time in the snow on the mountain.

So, we took our newly outfitted cute selves to Colorado for a weekend of fun with friends, fresh air and great skiing. I had a private lesson arranged for Tad - at 9am. Oops. Well, kind of. See, I wanted him to have ski school in the morning, lunch with me then maybe an afternoon run or two with me WHEN he decided he loved it. Then I realized what I had done. Tad is a sleeper. He values his weekend sleep since the week tends to be so hectic for him. I am ALWAYS awake long before him. Oh well, our reservation was non-refundable. He would have to get up. I would have to make sure he had breakfast and get him dressed. He seemed overwhelmed by the layers. He didn't know what a wicker was. Oh boy.

Getting dressed. Tad making sure he has money for apres.

Casey, Tad and Mark riding the bucket to the resort

Kris, Janin and Mark on the bucket

Tad getting fitted for boots.

Tad with Tony, his ski instructor

So, off we go. We meet up with Tony, Tad's ski instructor. I decided that I would tag along, mostly for pictures but also because it is always more fun to ski with someone. So, off we went. Tad rode the magic carpet ONCE and decided he was bored with the bunny hill. No one was more surprised by this than yours truly. SO, off we go..........

Tad and Tony riding his first lift.

I have to say that our first day on the mountain was not ideal. It was overcast, snowing and very windy. Tad thrived. He loved it. This was nothing like I expected. He was almost getting - dare I say BORED. Or at least not challenged. He decided to just ski a half day, so I was off to enjoy the rest of the day with Casey. I have to say that I wouldn't have blamed Tad in the slightest if he had decided to not go back for a second day. When Casey and I were on the mountain, you couldn't tell you were in the bumps until it was too late. You were going between powder and ice constantly. It was work. And tiring. Maybe we would just let the "sleeping giant" sleep.

Here he is, gaining speed and going a little steeper!

Skiing with Casey in the afternoon

Did everyone else know that Casey is French?!

At the end of the day, Tad looked me square in the eye and asked me what time we needed to be on the mountain. I couldn't believe it! He said he liked skiing and it was "easy". This was going even better than I thought! So, I stuffed my pockets with Kleenex and Carmex and off we went. He asked if he could listen to his iPod while skiing and the resounding answer was NO. If we ever have children, I now know what to expect.

Tad skis with Mark

Janin and Tad (who is COVERED in sunscreen) on the lift

watch out, Bode! Tad gets off the lift a little cleaner than you!

After a second glorious day on the mountain, it was time to hang up the skis for the season. Fortunately, Tad liked it enough to ask about next year, I have a new hot pink jacket (that won't be returned) and I have a new ski buddy to boot! YEAH!!!!!

Day 2, looking like a natural

Everyone has to have one of these. Tad's only spill. Caught on film. I had to snap the picture because I have a feeling this will be the only time we see this!

YARD SALE!!!!

Many thanks to The Schneiders for the hospitality and Casey for a ton of fun (and carrying my equipment)!

The Same, Yet Different

The largest challenge of two professionals getting married most certainly centers around duplicates. Beds, couches, washing mashines, rugs, sheets, towels and our favorite, mortgages. It seemed almost cute at the beginning. We decided we would move into Tad's home for several reasons. Mostly because of the space and the view, but also because it is closer to work for both of us and there were more bathrooms - an essential for both of us getting ready for work in the morning. We started to refer to my home as "the country home". It is a whopping 3 miles from our current residence. When I called to change the insurance on it and the agent queried what we were going to do with the "country home", my retort was "weekends" with a stifled giggle. That was all good until now, 7 mortgage payments later we have nothing to show for it other than a very expensive storage facility that says "Janin" throughout.

Enter my friend Sally. She is a spitfire of epic proportion. We are very similar in many respects. She has a smile that doesn't stop. She is kind, generous, sharing, and easy to talk to. She is just FUN to be around. SO, last week when we came over to Tad and my condo and she asked "when are you going to put YOUR mark on this condo?", I jumped into action. Before we knew it, furniture was being moved. Chandeliers elevated (when you pay for a view, it may as well be un-obstructed), decisions of what would stay and what would have to go were being made. Tad was at work. I was safe. Until he came home.

Tad walked in, got a grin on his face and said "what have you done?!". I explained. The dining room table took up too much space. I had to move the wine cabinet to open up what would now be my sitting room. Oh, and the dining room table? Gone. Just because of the shape. We will still have a table but the new one will have to be angular in shape. Forutnately, we just bought a storage facility. The old table will not be disposed of, just put away for later use. When he looked at me and said "you seriously raised the chandellier all by yourself?" and my retort was "no, Sally helped", he immediately said she couldn't come over to play any more. Then he called her (he introduced us) and said this was what we both needed and thanked her.

SO, Saturday morning, we went up to see the decorator that did the condo initially. We found the perfect chairs for the sitting area. They need to be upholstered. The rest will come. It will be perfect before the summer and entertaining season. The end result: more open space. More seating.

Last night, I couldn't help myself. I moved the chairs from the living room window seating to the new sitting area. Check it out. And, be sure to thank Sally.

A now vacant dining room - my antique elephant marks where a small table (for my wine) will sit.

Second View

The new space - once we get the correct chairs and a new table and some new lighting, it will be beautiful!!!

Stay tuned.

Honey, Is There Bowling Here?

I can get obsessive. When in the middle of planning for our trip to Singapore, Tad came home and announced "Guess what?! We get to go to the Super Bowl!". My immediate response "Awesome. Is that where there are 9 innings or 9 frames?". It really didn't matter since the game was held in South Florida and I was assured some time in the sun.

In all seriousness, it was an amazing experience. We were guests of the Atlanta Falcons, who treated us like gold. Since we had been in Asia for a week, followed by a stop in Orlando, we arrived in Miami Saturday afternoon just in time for all the buzz.

Saturday night, Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons hosted their guests on a yacht that toured the Miami area. It was the best. time. ever. The food was great, there was plenty of wine and we got to hang out with some wonderful people. It was a real treat when they indulged us with some pictures, too! Check us out!

Tad with Warrick Dunn, former Running Back for the Atlanta

Falcons.

Tad and Janin, ready to cruise the harbor

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The Hutcheson's with Matt Ryan, who may be the nicest 20 something ever. For real.

Sunday morning after a wonderful brunch, we boarded a coach bus bound for the stadium. We were told to board bus #3 and then given tickets to the Official Tailgate Party. Tickets = Heaven. Wow. Vendors galore. Food everywhere we turned. Bars with no line. Everything was complimentary. We had a blast. Live music played. I was in my element. They gave me a great hat as a souvenir. Wow.

Enjoying the Tailgate Party. Cupcake anyone?

When we made it to the stadium, I was amazed by our seats. This was my second Super Bowl. If last year was amazing, this year topped it. Our seats were incredible. We were surrounded by people whose name you might know, like Kim Kardashian, Sam Donaldson, Ivander Holyfield, Harry Connick Junior, Spike Lee. No one got my attention more than the yellow lab who wore vest that said "Patriots for Independence".

I knew I liked this guy for a reason

The concert at half time (I mean the entertainment) from The Who was awesome. I proved that I could not "activate my cell phone and perform these moves", so I apologize to everyone who was looking for the blonde with a big smile. She was feeding her new yellow lab friend popcorn.

The Who!!!

Which inning are we in?

Well hello, seat mate! Nice eyebrows!

Dude. Are you making a movie?

WHO DAT?!

We had an incredible weekend, even if I never figured out what inning it was. Tad brought along plenty of sunblock and we were surrounded by awesome friends.

Check out all of our pictures on the sidebar!

Jet Lag and Chey Chey

After 30 hours of travel, we landed in Singapore! I had done TONS of research on what we should see and do while in this pristine country, so I was prepared to hit the ground running. We were fortunate enough to fly on Singapore Airlines to get there on one of their all-business class Airbus 340's. That airplane only holds 100 passengers, yet has 14 flight attendants and 4 pilots - well 5, if you include the one sleeping in 18F (yours truly). Our excitement rose every time we mentioned that we were flying on Singapore Airlines. People would say things like "ooh!", "lucky", "amazing service!". The airline did not disappoint. We boarded the airplane, were promptly given champagne then told about the length of the flight. 18.5 hours. Without stopping. Oy. Fortunately, there were power outlets, movies, video games, seats that laid flat and incredible food. I had also discovered that the integrated phone allowed me to dial my husband so we could talk on the phone (though sitting right next to each other) to simulate me being on the road. We were also able to prank call the guy in 11A who always won the on-board trivia.

I convinced Tad this was a real Flight Attendant.

It may have been since they are all about this big. Or rather small.

Our route of flight 18.5 hours after departing Newark, New Jersey we would find ourselves in Changi, Singapore

I had grand plans for us, but in dealing with the 13 hour time change, first things first, we needed a nap.

View of the harbor from our room

We did force ourselves to get out and walk for the afternoon though so jet-lagged we were nauseous. We had lots to check off our list. First, a ride on the Singapore Flyer. It is the worlds largest observation wheel. The views of the city are incredible.

We decided that we would do a tour of the city, which was an amazing experience. Singapore is a county of immigrants, with the population's majority being primarily Chinese, Indian and Malay. Our tour happened to be the day in which the Hindu's celebrate Thanksgiving. The men fast, meditate and prepare to give themselves to the God's in Thanksgiving. They pierce themselves through both cheeks and their tongues (they look as though they are carrying a bone in their mouths) and then HOOK large structures through their skin and carry them for 2.5 kilometers to the temple. They have a grand parade and we got to see it up close and personal! Wow. Ouch.

Hindu man carrying his structure in Thanksgiving

We were very fortunate with our accommodations (though there aren't any by the hour or roach coach-ish hotels in Singapore) and we got to stay at The Ritz Carlton Millenia. It was an amazing hotel with exceptional service and bellmen who liked to pull my leg. And tease Tad.

Asking directions to the Singapore Flyer turns into a laugh fest.

Singapore Flyer. For my husband, who is afraid of heights.

We shopped in China town, as they were getting ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year -

"change" it's everywhere.

dragon puppet. Scary.

Roasted pork that was heaven in the mouth. A delicacy for The New Year.

Dinner. Well, for one of us.

Finally, the whole reason we made the journey. Tad won a prestigious award from AirTransport World from AirTransport World for Market Leadership. I was so proud to be there as he accepted his award. CONGRATULATIONS, TAD! xoxoxoxo