Clever Nomad

I wonder if the 15 people who read this blog missed me last week? We spent a family week on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was great fun. I'll definitely post more later, but here are a few shots of our beautiful week.

Back to reality today!

This will be my temporary home:


My days will be spent riding bikes, playing on the beach, yoga-ing, and frolicking with the young 'uns.

It's going to be great.

On my way to the car this morning, I saw that our cat vomited in the stroller. The $750 Baby Jogger City Select stroller. Penance for such extravagance?

Nevertheless, a cat may die today.

And, the other night? I sat in pee. My child's pee, which he had carelessly spilled on the seat and floor as he attempted to empty his child's potty into the big toilet. Mr. Nomad saw the spillage, but in his words, "it was chaos" as the baby was attempting to crawl through said pee. Mr. Nomad conveniently forgot to clean it up, and I ended up with pee on my legs.

We live in the suburbs on Atlanta. We ended up here, not by choice, but by circumstances. Right after Mr. Nomad and I got married, I started law school. Like, six weeks later. I went to UGA in Athens, which is way east of Atlanta, and the Mr. worked on far west side of Atlanta. This meant we had to live kind of in-between. So commenced three years of horrible commutes for both of us. Where I found that kind of energy and drive still baffles me.

We purchased a townhome in 2004 while I was in law school. Then, we rented it out when we purchased our home in 2006. Yes, THAT 2006, the one with the highest home prices ever record. The bubble of all bubble years.

So, like many 35-year olds that I know, I am now the proud owner of two homes - our starter and our second. We never planned to keep either of the houses this long, especially the one we're living in now. The house itself is fine, it's the location that's the issue. It's a nice neighborhood, but many of our neighbors don't speak English. We live in a heavily Korean area, and those that are friendly simply don't speak our language well enough to forge anything beyond pleasantries. Many aren't friendly at all - I've learned that, despite efforts, some cultures are very closed. It makes it tough for our toddler to have playdates and make friends. We've got a couple of friends in the immediate area, but that's it.

Though I want to move abroad, I do have to be a bit practical (dammit!). We've got kids to educate and student loans to pay. We've been considering different areas of Atlanta for years and have settled on where we want to buy. Problem is, we've got to wait a bit to sell our house, if we can sell it at all. Still underwater, don't you know? We're going to take a huge loss on the house, but I want it behind me. Plus, we have to save some for the NEW house, so yeah. It sucks.

We're looking at the Decatur/Oakhurst neighborhood. Decatur is not Atlanta, it's a separate city with its own taxes and schools. Good schools, too. Lots of parks, festivals and family-oriented activities. All within walking distance if you buy in the right area. It's going to be tough to find a house within our desired budget that is large enough for our needs, but I'm ready. It's going to be "the" house. The one to stay in for a long time. The family home.

I just want to get started. Waiting is very frustrating. Oakhurst even has its own flag - see?

One of my next adventures is going to be a girl's weekend in the North Georgia mountains. This area is really popular for Atlantans because (i) it's within a 3 hour drive, and (ii) the temperature drops, like, 5 or 10 degrees, which matters to us. It's the difference between tank tops and tank tops with cardigans. So, yeah.

The area around Dahlonega, Georgia, is a little micro wine country. There are lots of nice vineyards with tasting "rooms," many of them outdoors. Examples: Frogtown, Three Sisters, and Wolf Mountain.

The main town, Dahlonega, is home to a small public university and a busy downtown area. Like you would expect from a college town, there are a number of coffee shops, vegetarian and/or vegan inspired cafes, and a bookstore. Of course, it's a tourist town, so the obligatory chocolate shop and art galleries also populate the square.


I went with two attorney friends last year; this year we will add one more. It's becoming a yearly tradition, and I like it. It's inexpensive, it's quaint, and I don't have to go through a TSA checkpoint. Score.

A view like this close to home? I'll take it!

I've been on my replacement thyroid hormone for three weeks now. The doctor said it would take 6-8 weeks to reach it's full effect. I feel so good right now I cannot imagine how much better it could get. In three more weeks I may be able to run a small country. Or maybe just a 5K. Yes, that's slighty more reasonable.

This is really sexy talk. I feel like my 75 year old aunt. More about me.

So, my energy has slowly come back. It didn't hit me immediately, but it returned over the course of the last few weeks, bit by bit. I no longer wake up tired. I no longer yawn every 10 minutes. I no longer walk around in a mental fog.

I think the exercise is helping, too. When I found out about the hypothyroidism, I made a promise to start taking very good care of myself. I now make exercise a priority over housework. The dishes can wait. My health cannot.

I'm also tracking my daily food intake on My Fitness Pal. Love this app - it tells you how much to eat to reach your goal, and at the end of every day it tells you how much you'll weigh in 5 weeks if every day was like that day. Down 1.5 lbs this week, so it's working. Just 25 more to go. Hmph.

I decided to make another change as well. I've been on an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety drug for over three years now. It was prescribed to me during a very rough time in my life: job layoff (bad economy) and inability to conceive. Honestly, I needed the meds at the time. I was in a bad, bad place.

But, those circumstances have resolved, obviously. Especially the conception one, since now all Mr. Nomad and I have to do is think about a baby and we're gifted with one. Yes, yes, I know we're lucky. And tired. And broke.

Anyway, I've been tapering off that medication for a month now. I'm down from a dose of 20mg/day to 5mg/day. Besides occasional edginess, I've not experienced any withdrawal symptoms. I hope to be off it for good in about two weeks. I hope I can stay off of it, but the anxiety is what worries me. Prior to 2009, I was a very anxious person. I've become relatively chilled out in the last few years and I don't want to lose that. I like being laid back. I like not having panic attacks on airplanes.

But, I am trusting that I've changed in the past few years. I've definitely grown and matured. I am now okay with the fact that I can't control everything. Control is kind of boring anyway - it removes the excitement and unknown from life.

I mean, would an anxious person do this?


(Sky Trek Zipline, Arenal, Costa Rica, 2008) - okay, that's the Mr. there. In my defense, I added the pic really late last night and in the thumbnail I thought it was me. Apparently, I have crazy muscle arms in my mind. Never mind, I'm leaving it.