Staying in Albuquerque

Well folks, we’ve decided to stay in Albuquerque for a few more years.  We’ve moved out of the apartment, which has improved my impression of the Land of Enchantment quite a bit. It was no secret that I hated the apartment and it was extremely hot, and there was no yard for the dogs.  Our new house has a yard, and A/C, and we’re quite comfortable here.  I’m starting my own photography business and hope to be busy with that very soon.  You can check out my website at http://hotchkissphoto.com/.  Let me know what you think, I’d love some feedback!  Anyways, below are some pics of the new house.  If you need our new address, email us!

Southern Charm

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Savannah, GA to meet my brother’s new wife, Melissa. We had a great time and Melissa is more than I could have ever hoped for in a partner for my brother and as an added member to our family.  A bit shy, very soft-spoken and probably overwhelmed by the invasion of me, Sam and my mom.  It says a lot that she can handle my brother, though!  I can’t wait to get to know her more over the years.  So, welcome to the clan, Melissa! I was happy that we were able to belatedly celebrate Melissa’s birthday while we were in town.  I sure hope she liked us.

We spent most of our time in Savannah, with short trips to Hilton Head, SC and Charleston.  That part of the country is just beautiful and we hope to spend a lot more time there in the future.  While in Charleston we visited with Suki, had lunch and a tour.  It was so nice to see her again.  Every time I see her, I wish we lived closer so I could just talk with her for hours about anything.  Charleston is gorgeous and even though I was utterly exhausted and felt like I was about a 1/4 present I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.  The history in both Savannah and Charleston is of particular interest to me, and like I said before, I really hope we can visit the areas again over and over!

Pictures!

Doing the right thing…..?

As some of you may know, since living in Albuquerque we have endured (enjoyed?) living above one of the strangest people I’ve ever encountered. To say she’s been difficult would be putting it mildly. To say that she is mentally unhinged would not begin to describe her personality. Since moving into the apartment on Antigua in April, we’ve had a number of run-ins with this woman. Our very first encounter happened while we were unloading the U-Haul on our very first day in Albuquerque. To be more exact, she made her first appearance while Sam attempted to back the U-Haul into a parking spot near our stairs. What unfolded from there was as follows: the whole run down on how awful the complex that we hadn’t even finished moving into yet was, her complete medical history and her self-proclaimed pathetically small and ever dwindling family tree. And she was currently being audited. Oh, and at some point in there we met her suicidal cat, George Burns (whom she chases around the parking lot- he, dodging sprays and her overall wrath by sprinting underneath the parked cars, her, with a spray bottle and screaming “you get back in there, George Burns, you get back in that house right now!”). Why she takes her cat with her to Costco is beyond my comprehension. Why she believes that if she just opens the car door, he’ll run towards her apartment is just silly.

We had multiple run-ins with her from this point on. Some good, some bad. Some really really bad. She made various complaints to the management that we “lived too loudly”, followed by a request to not walk in our bedroom during the day because we make too much noise. She threatened to call the police over the Summer because a friend’s swimsuit top that had been drying in the sun on the balcony had blown off and fallen to the rocks below her bedroom window and Sam was trying to retrieve it as carefully and quickly as possible. We’ve since learned that she is on a great deal of medication and depending on when she last took this medication, she could be really nasty or really nice. At first, I took great offense to her attacks since I had always considered myself to be a kind, considerate neighbor who can get along with just about anyone. It made me pretty angry and hurt. And nervous since I didn’t know what was coming next and if it would somehow reflect badly on our rental history. I didn’t like that the Tierra Antigua Management staff always reprimanded us for stuff we were NOT doing without asking us if any of her accusations were true. She even went so far as to say that we (two non-smokers) had somehow thrown a cigarette butt down into her covered patio and burned her furniture….?? And all of this happened while we were in Boston. A nasty letter from management was waiting for us when we returned from our trip, exhausted from travel, reprimanding our carelessness and reminding us of the dangers of smoking and correct cigarette disposal. Gee, thanks, that will surely come in handy.

One rainy day in October, Sam and I returned from the gym to find our dog, Izzy, on the landing. Soaking wet and barking at our neighbor, who was to her credit, frantically trying to catch Izzy by enticing her with a milk bone. She saw that we were pulling up and said that she tried to make Izzy safe. Izzy had jumped through our second story window, survived the fall and had been prowling around making mischief for at least an hour and a half. That night really made me think. I have since realized that we are dealing with a mentally unstable woman who is basically alone and very lonely. I’ve really tried to make amends with her, understanding that it’s important to just play along with a crazy person who has no real grip on reality. I began treading lightly when seeing her in passing, and trying to make friendly small talk with her while still escaping to the safety of our second story apartment. She often offered our dogs treats when we would return from a nice walk. One day, to really cement the peace that I thought might be growing, I accepted her offer of treats for the dogs. I waited while she excitedly ran into her apartment and returned with two big milk bones, one for each pup. She made them sit, gave them the treats and then showered them with a lot of love. An animal lover–finally, something we have in common.

Now when I see her, I don’t dread it as much. I still get a little nervous because you don’t know what kind of day it’s been for her. I let her see the dogs and chat with her for a minute, and Sam usually knows to fabricate an excuse to get me up the stairs and away from being stuck there too long. I try to commiserate with her about the crappy maintenance & management at Tierra Antigua. I think it’s just better to agree than fight a pointless battle with someone who can’t understand. The next time she feels we’ve been too loud, I’m sure I’ll just apologize. In this situation, I have to understand that I have the intellectual upper hand, and it’s my duty to extend patience and kindness to her–someone who has not lived the privileged and pretty great life I have led with a wonderful family surrounding me.

This morning before leaving for work, at her doorstep I dropped a tin of cookies I made last night and a Christmas card. Hopefully she won’t think we’re trying to poison her and will feel included and thought of during the holidays which can be pretty lonely for someone who has no one. And I really hope she’s not allergic to peanuts!

Happy Holidays, everyone! Please give someone who needs it a little love this year. It could be the best gift you ever give yourself.

Becky

Jingle Wedding Bells!

It’s about a week until Christmas and I just had to post some very exciting news— my brother, David, got married yesterday! I’m so extremely happy for him and Melissa. I haven’t met her yet, but I can’t wait to get to know her. Congratulations you guys, we love you! We wish you the very best!

Our Christmas Tree this year!

We’re just about set for Christmas this year. We picked out our Christmas jammies this evening, and my mom will be joining us on Christmas Eve. It will be a quiet Christmas at our little apartment here, and then we’ll spend some time with Rachel and her family as well later in the day on Christmas. We’ll be sending out our annual holiday letter soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Getting to be that time of year….

I usually love the holidays, and this year will be no exception. On top of spending a nice, quiet Thanksgiving with Sam, my mom and her dog Buddy (Buddy had knee surgery, so he couldn’t play, poor guy), we were given some pretty exciting news as well. David, my brother, is getting married and having a baby! David lives in Port Wentworth, GA (near Hilton Head) and I’ve not yet had the chance to meet Melissa Lee, his fiance, but I can’t wait! I’m going to have another sister-in-law, and another niece or nephew! I’m trying to figure out how to make a trip to Savannah to see them soon, to have a chance to get to know Melissa. If David loves her, I’m sure she’s wonderful.

Christmas this year is going to be a quiet one. We decided to spend it at home in Albuquerque, just the four of us (me, Sam,  Barkley & Izzy). We selected a tree last night at Mike’s Tree Farm on Paseo Del Norte, brought her home and gussied her all up. She looks magnificent! There’s just something about having a tree with lights, covered in childhood memories (ornaments, etc). I have really been enjoying our fireplace, and now even more so with the tree there.

WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU DOING FOR CHRISTMAS????

Check out this funny video that I made starring me, Sam & my brother. It’s a hoot!! Tee Hee~!

Sam’s grandfather, Joseph Hotchkiss, passed away on Nov. 27. He passed at home in Connecticut with his loving family around him, comfortable and hopefully at peace. He was a good man that I know Sam admired greatly. He will be missed, to be certain. We are sending all of our love to Granny & Anne, Polly, Jody & Hannah, and family. There will be a memorial service in the Spring, and we will be there.

Anyways, not much else new on this front…. Hope everyone is doing great!

Going on a roadtrip…

Next week, we’ll be packing up the car and heading out onto the open road. We’re driving from Albuquerque to Rockford, IL to visit with family (it’s my grandparent’s wedding anniversary in November, and since some people can’t make the trip in November, we’re all going in October instead) and also to have a face-to-face with a client in Chicago. We’re both really excited for the road trip. Every time we get on 40 to drive to work, Sam says something along the lines of “I’d really like to go on a road trip”, so…now….on Oct. 7, when we get on 40, we’re going to keep going! I’m excited because we’ll be driving through two states I’ve never been to (Texas & Oklahoma), and since I really have no desire to actually visit either of those states, it will be fun to “see” them as we pass through. Our friend Adam recommends a stop at the Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo–where you can spray paint onto cadillacs that have been half buried in the ground. We’ll see… Sam didn’t sound too excited about it. It won’t be a great time to stop, since we want to get where we are going as fast as possible, but maybe I can negotiate at least one stupid tourist trap…we’ll see.

Let’s see–what else has been going on around here…..

we’re finally getting a break from the seemingly relentless heat. Work is busy as usual. We’re planning to go see the Balloon Fiesta this coming week, which should make for some great photos. I haven’t been too inspired to take any photos as of late, and I’m really hoping that the fiesta combined with our road trip will revive my love of photography. I’ve dusted off my camera that I haven’t used since shooting a friend’s wedding in May in Durango.

Last week, we had some nice rains. The only problem with the rain is that it was over too quickly. We came home one evening from the gym to find Izzy standing in the pouring rain, barking at our downstairs neighbor. As most of you know, we live on the second story of our apartment building. So yeah, she jumped. Out the window. Of our second story apartment. And she’s fine. She’s such a handful– we adopted her from the shelter, where we learned that she used to be owned by a homeless person, so I’m sure she’s learned a lot of survival skills. And apparently, one of them is jumping from tall heights and surviving. Geez. It was a bit confusing at first, but really we’re just glad that she’s ok.

In other news, about 3 weeks ago, Sam accidentally hit me very hard with his racquetball racket during a particularly  competitive game. Long story short, after 2 ER visits, 2 black eyes, 1 cat scan that revealed a concussion, countless radiating headaches and pains–I’m just starting to get back to normal activities, with some minor concentration & focus issues, and some remaining pain in my forehead where impact occurred. We’re getting back to playing the game again, but I’m still a little skittish. It was a scare, for sure. The moral of this story is: take every safety precaution available to you when partaking in potentially hazardous activities!

We’re planning a move sometime in the coming year. We’ll keep our office open here in Albuquerque, but this isn’t really the place we want to land for too long. And we’re anxious to buy a house, a fixer-upper maybe, and become part of a community. The places currently in the running are (in this order):

Wilson Harbor, NY (on Lake Ontario)
Chicago, IL
Bay Area, CA
Boston, MA

We really like the idea of Wilson because it’s a small town near Buffalo, on a beautiful lake, with SCREAMING real estate deals right now on houses ON the lake. So we could buy a project, fix it up, and be pretty content I believe. The Buffalo area offers minor league baseball, boating, and the Bills–all things that we really consider pretty important. All of the places we’re considering have pros and cons, so it will probably essentially boil down to fate, I’m sure.

I’ll post some balloon photos once I take them!

Oh yeah, also be sure to check out my new photography website–it’s still under construction, but will be coming soon!

Settling In

It’s been two weeks since we opened our office and things are looking good. We are able to draw a clearly defined line between work and home, which is a new thing. It’s a great thing. So far, we’ve taken our two weekends off to catch up on sleep, since we’ve been so busy working on getting set up. I think it will only get easier as time goes on. Sadly, we don’t visit the pool as often as we had been, but now it’s a treat to be able to go on the weekends. But I’ll trade pool time for the chance to stop the phones from ringing and to unchain Sam from his computer anytime. Our clients are adjusting (some are proving to be less adaptable, shall we say?), and I am confident that after another couple of weeks, they will realize that this is our schedule now. So, no, we will not be answering your calls at 11pm on a Sunday. Clearly. Actually, we fired the one client who did this on a regular basis and are now working with all pretty darn good people. We will be redoing the consulting website, as Sam designed a new logo for our business cards. I’m looking forward to building a brand that will become recognizable with our name.

In other news, Sam turned 26 this past Saturday. We had a great day of relaxing, good food and a great baseball game with Rachel, Austin & the kids. The Isotopes played a great game which was followed up by a spectacular fireworks show.  Oh, and I made a carrot cake for Sam–and while it’s true the frosting did sort of melt off in the heat, it still tasted pretty good. There are no pictures of that cake to post on purpose. It was nice to spend some time with family. I think it’s too easy to get wrapped up in our own little lives and we forget to make time for things like that.

We are busy trying to flesh out our trip to Rockford in the Fall. My friend, Elaine, had her first baby and I can’t wait to meet him, and see her too, of course. I’ll see my Dad & Stepmom, my grandparents and various friends, and I’m excited. We will be driving, as we learned recently that driving will only cost us roughly $150 in gas (in our Pruis) as opposed to several hundred dollars in airfare and renting a car. And don’t worry–for Sam’s birthday, I bought him extender rails for his seat in the Prius, so he can drive comfortably.

That’s all from us right now. Hope everyone who reads this is enjoying life!

Hotchkiss Consulting News!!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to write a quick note to share with everyone the exciting news! We have moved our web development company out of our guest bedroom and into an office space in downtown Albuquerque. We are on the 6th/top floor of the historic Sunshine Building, which was Albuquerque’s first “sky scraper”. In addition to the new office space, we have hired another developer to work with us. His name is Adam Hurd, and after his first week with us, it is safe to say that he has already proven himself to be a valuable addition to our team. We are very excited to build our business and believe that this was the next step in our path to taking over the world! Ok, the coding world. Ok, we’ll settle for our corner…but still!! We emailed out a newsletter to everyone, and so if you are reading this, and didn’t get the email, shoot us an email and we’ll add you. We don’t plan to send them too often, so it won’t be bothersome. See some pics below!

Love to you all!

Becky & Sam

Boston, Greenwich, NYC

We recently went on a business trip to Boston, MA, where Sam made some good contacts for Call2Test (check

Our hotel in Boston, Newbury Guesthouse

out their website: call2test.com) and I got to see some of the Boston area. It’s a great city, although it was pretty humid! Coming from the dry, arid climate of Albuquerque, and Durango before that, this midwestern girl had forgotten just what humidity is. Stepping out of Logan Airport was an immediate crash course in humidity. We learned later that it was a particularly humid week, most everyone was commenting on how extreme the humidity was. We stayed at a quaint guesthouse in the Back Bay on Newbury Street. It had a French Bistro in the bottom level where we would eat our breakfasts. There are an abundance of eclectic shops lining the street, which was bustling with businessmen & women, students and tourists. Every sidewalk cafe was packed each day of the week, save Sunday, when I assume the life of Newbury Street is cozily tucked away at home until late afternoon.

Part of the Prudential Center, on Boyleston

Sam’s conference was at the Prudential Center, which was a short 2.5 blocks away, a quick, enjoyable walk from our hotel. The Prudential Center is a huge conference building that also has 2 hotels connected, stores, restaurants, it covers what looked like to me to be a whole city block. It even had walkways to connect buildings over the busy streets. Sam was attending the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, where he and his partn

Creepy (although tasty!) lobster

er were mingling with and meeting prospective clients. I don’t want to say too much, but all went well, and all in all I would call it a very productive and worthwhile trip.

On some of Sam’s downtime, we had dinner at Legal Seafood, where I ordered my first lobster. To be clear, I’ve eaten lobster before, but have never ordered it for myself. It turns out that while I really like the taste of lobster, I don’t have the stomach for preparing it to eat, all the cracking and ripping, all the while the lobster’s beady little eyes are fixed on me in a stony gaze. It was a tasty dinner, but I will admit that Sam had to do most of the dirty work for me. A little too much eyes and antennae for me! See the picture for yourselves, you’ll see what I’m talking about!

Molly, our trusty transportation.

We also had time to take a Duck tour, which was cool because we got to hit a lot of the highlights of the city, with a guided tour, and I’ll have to say, our “conDUCKtor” was classy with a capital C! Our steed, in all her shiny brown glory was named ‘Molly Molasses’. Molly took us through the

Our tour guide, Disco Dave---favorite quote "Good times!"

Back Bay, to Boston Common, past the Boston Public Library and Bunker Hill Monument. We passed Copley Square and Faneuil Hall also known as “The Cradle of Liberty”. We saw TD Garden, where the Celtics play (Go Celts!) and then we rolled right into Charles River to view the city from the waterway. It was an informative and interesting tour. We even got to see where our forefathers first read the Constitution. We saw the apartment that President Kennedy grew up in, and even saw a 250 gallon steaming teapot. Needless to say, Boston is a city rich with history and I really enjoyed learning more about it. I’d like to go back soon and spend more time walking around the city, and taking the T, the public transportation system that is surprisingly easy to understand. Almost as easy as the London Tube.

Me, Sam & Aunt Anne at Centro in Greenwich

After our time in Boston was over, we took the train to Greenwich, CT, to visit Granny, Grandfather,  Aunt Anne & we even had the pleasant surprise of briefly seeing Aunt Polly, too. We stayed at the Stanton House again, and had a lovely room overlooking the patio and pool. Again, we laughed at the silly rules in the ‘Stanton House Handbook’ , one of which is “Red wine is unforgiving, and so are we.” I can understand why they have such strict rules, though, because the rooms are in very good condition, and I enjoy the cleanliness and quality of it, and want to keep it that way for future visits. I imagine, though, that they keep a file on every person who

Our room at the Stanton House in Greenwich

boards there, something similar to a report card and you have to keep your grade above a B+ in order to stay there again. Or maybe they use the 3 strikes system. Whatever it may be, it had me double checking the room before checkout to ensure our ability to stay there again! It’s quiet and lovely and to spend a week in Greenwich with family would be heaven. I hope we’ll be able to make a longer trip there someday very soon, I always feel like the short times we spend there just blast past in a blur. We were also able to take a trip to Darien to see Jody, Kris, Leah, Graham and I had the chance to meet Sophie for the first time, which was a pleasure. Thank you to everyone who invited us over and made us feel so welcome. It’s always so nice to see everyone, it really makes me wish we lived closer to them. Before we left town, we had lunch at Centro with Anne, Grandfather’s favorite restaurant. It was rather tasty and had a great atmosphere. I finally know what Centro is all about!

Me & Sam at Back Bay Station on the way to Greenwich

The last leg of our trip was a less than 24 hour jaunt in NYC. By the time we got there, we were exhausted. We had dinner in our hotel room, went to bed early and got some much needed rest. Our flight was in the afternoon, so we took a walk around Times Square, then headed to La Guardia to come home.

We’re happy to be home now, getting back to normal life, dogs, work, etc. Our next trip will be to Rockford, IL to visit my side of the family. We don’t have exact dates yet, but it will be in the Fall, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. We’ll be spending a week in one place and that will be a treat as well.

Lots of love to everyone!!!

Newest addition to our family…

And yes, I know…we can’t get our Christmas lights down because there’s still too much snow!