Meet Alila!

Exciting news from the Schweers! We have adopted a puppy - a little sister for our Sweet Siena! She is a cream-colored dachshund who is roughly 8 weeks old (she will be 9 weeks old when we bring her home next week). We have heard she is sweet and super snuggly and she'll be a welcome addition to our household!

Nate came up with her name - we will call her Alila. It is where we stayed on our honeymoon in Bali this summer - super fun because it continues our travel theme and has great meaning for us. The name Alila comes from Sanskrit meaning surprise - which is perfect since we did decide quickly to get her (although we had been talking about it since our wedding).

So - why another puppy? Another dachshund, at that? Well we've learned in the past two years that we've had Siena that dachshunds are true pack animals. Siena loves to be with us and hates being alone - as a result even going to work, or out to dinner, is hard because she looks so sad. Our vet said that a lot of dogs feel this way, but dachshunds more so that most. We think she'll take to being a big sister well in time, and once Alila grows up they will have each other. Most of all, having Siena has brought us so much joy and happiness, we just love having a dog and know that Alila will bring us equal joy. We can't wait for her to come home next weekend - after we get home from PARIS!

Stay tuned for an update on Paris & Alila coming home next weekend!

A Little Love Note to My Husband

This has been one of the best weeks I can remember. I love my new job and coworkers - I feel like I'm finally somewhere where I'll stay for many years and learn and grow. It feels like the wait was so worth it. Not unlike me and Nate getting back together after so many years apart. My first week on the job, someone asked me in a fun Q&A kind of way, what's something surprising about you? And I said "I tell people my husband and I never fight, and they don't believe me." That answer, of course, was met with a bit of skepticism. While it's true, it wasn't always the case. Rewind to Nate and I in high school and college and it seemed like that's all we did! But when we got together years ago, it just seemed like we had matured out of it. Our feelings, our relationship began with this deep sensitivity that while opinions and disagreements could be expected, fighting was something we weren't willing to participate in. And, to this day, I cannot recall more than a time or two that I even felt like prompted to fight. Our relationship is built on friendship, most importantly kindness and consistency. My husband is my partner, my best friend, my confidant. I can tell him literally anything and he doesn't judge me. There is never a day that goes by that I doubt that he cherishes me and respects me. Many days I wonder how we got so lucky. I think we both knew at a very young age that our connection was something special. I don't think we were able to process and appreciate it until much later in life as we matured and lived our lives. I feel grateful, every day, that we continue to choose each other and build our lives together. So as I reflect on a wonderful first week at my new job, I remember my greatest supporter and wanted to say how much I love my sweet husband.

Farewell, March of Dimes

Wednesday was my last day at the March of Dimes. I can't believe how quickly two years flew by. When I started at March of Dimes Nate and I weren't even engaged yet, Siena was just a few months old, and I'd just finished visiting my sister in the Dominican Republic (she's now been out of the Peace Corps for 6 months!). Time really does fly, and I'm so thankful for everything I learned at the March of Dimes, all my amazing coworkers, and the friends I've made. Some of the things I'm most proud of include creating the organization's first Instagram handles and building the followings (@marchofdimes is poised to hit 5,000 by the end of 2014!). I'm also very proud of working on World Prematurity Day and covering live on social media as major buildings and sights across the globe went purple at nightfall for prematurity awareness (including the Empire State Building and Niagara Falls!). I also helped advocate for a WPD tee shirt, this year we sold more than twice what we sold last year. While leaving is always bittersweet, I'm excited that I can watch a lot of our initiatives continue on social media. I'm grateful for the opportunity and excited for the next challenge that awaits. Below is my favorite picture from my time at March of Dimes, it's me and my coworkers on World Prematurity Day last year wearing our "Hugs Heal" shirts:

Next week I start at US Fund for UNICEF. I can't wait for the next chapter to begin!

Bucket List: Giants Game!

Nate and I aren't big into buying gifts - since we started dating we've always found experiences to be more fun. For our birthdays and for Christmas instead of getting presents we've gone on trips, dined at great restaurants, and gone to concerts. Well, for Christmas my sister had the amazing idea of going to a Giants game. It has been on our NYC bucket list for ages. We decided our Christmas gift to each other will be going to see the Giants vs. Eagles a few days after Christmas with my sister and her boyfriend! I can't wait - Nate and I always thought going to a Giants game would be more fun with friends. My sister is also a huge New York sports fan so we will have a blast and it will be so special!

I'm so excited to go to my first NFL game, and a Giants game at that! Plus we get to mark it off the bucket list and I get to experience it with my sister and husband! She snagged us great seats in the lower level in the 18th row! It's going to be awesome!

We're gonna be here in just a couple months!

Back to Running!

Today is the 2014 New York City Marathon! It's an exciting day - lots of our friends are running for different charities and organizations. It's a windy but clear day and hopefully a lot of fun for all of them. I started thinking about when I was in New York Road Runners and how much fun I had gearing up for races, before I fell and sprained my ankle and missed the Brooklyn Half back in 2013.

Inspired by my friends running the marathon today, I have rejoined Road Runners and registered for a fun Jingle Bell Jog in Brooklyn first weekend in December. It's a 4 mile race, just over a 5K, and should be the perfect length to get back into running. I was really loving it, before I fell, and I love having goals!

It's no secret my long commute and post-honeymoon I've gained (more than) a little weight. So much is changing for the better right now, and it seems like the perfect time to hop back on the running bandwagon and set some goals for 2015 - like running a half marathon and maybe trying to run the 2015 marathon for charity!

We will see, right now I'm taking things day by day, week by week. I've got a few weeks to get back into running before we go to Paris, and then a week after we get back before my first running event. Stay tuned for more running adventures!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Schweers! We haven't really dressed up for Halloween in a while - two years ago we went as Hunger Games (see that post HERE) but Hurricane Sandy had just hit, and there wasn't really anywhere to go out so we just hung out in our building lobby. This year, Nate and I decided to do more of a DIY costume and we went as the Peanuts gang! Nate was Charlie Brown, I was Lucy (hence my sign, The Doctor is IN!) and our baby girl Siena got to be Linus for a minute, with her light blue baby blanket.

Nate and I went downtown with my group of friends from the Book Club. We had a blast! Everyone's costumes were so original - we had everyone from Captain America to Peter Pan, a homemade Peacock costume, American Hustlers, a Boy and Girl Scout, Jackie and JFK, to Gilmore Girls Luke and Lorelei. Seriously everyone looked amazing and the night was so much fun! Here's a cute picture of all the girls - I wish we'd gotten one with the guys too, since so many of us came in couples costumes. Such a great night!