Random Updates

THE BIG MOVE
Can’t believe we’re moving in a month! There’s still much to do with the house, cars, etc. We decided to rent our house through a property management company. While we weren’t thrilled about the fees, we felt it was the safest way to take care of our house especially as we’ve not lived there long enough to know its idiosyncrasies. We’ve already done a few small things to prepare the house for renting – paint touch-ups, bathroom fan, railing downstairs, etc. Now we can focus on the cars and belongings.

We’ve selected March 23 or 24 as our fly-out date. Yes, this is right on my birthday. After 3 years of birthdays on airplanes, it feels only appropriate that our Shanghai move would happen around then! This will give us a chance to pack up the week before, do a going away dinner with friends, and arrive in Shanghai in time for our health check and immigration paperwork.

VDAY = VIRUS DAY
Karl planned a wonderful date night on Valentine’s Day, but wasn’t feeling well. We were at Mantra having a fabulous fixed menu. When the entrée was served, he looked at me and said "we must leave now." When we got home, he gave me a beautiful orchid, a spicy chocolate bar, and a card. A few days later I gave him a card and medicine. Quite the romantic Vday – our first one as a married couple?! Karl was very sick for about 4 days, but has fortunately recuperated.

FAMILY LIEBAT VISIT
Mom Mary (Karl’s mom) and Paul (bro) arrived on Friday evening for a short visit. We went out in Palo Alto on Friday night for Tapas. Saturday we drove to San Francisco for the famous farmers market at the Ferry Terminal where we "sampled" breakfast by visiting all the stalls. We later continued on to Sonoma to pick up our last wine shipment and suspended our Wine Club. Did you know Ledson no longer does weddings?!? As always, we had a fabulous time up North. For dinner, we drove back and went to Manresa – a Michelin/Zagat rated restaurant in Los Gatos. Nabeel & Asha came by Sunday morning before we all left. The weather was terrible – pouring the majority of their stay. Despite the weather, it was fun to catch up over a quick weekend.
Paul and I get to see each other again at a conference in Vegas in April!

PARTY!
On 3/1, we will have a "House Warming/We’re Moving" party. We’re expecting around 80 people. We decided to rent heat lamps and have the food catered so we can enjoy the time with our friends. Karl’s threatening to put garage sale tags on everything!

AND WORK.
Work is going ok for both of us. Karl is deciding between 2 job opportunities in Asia, and hopes to have a decision soon. I have just announced a re-structuring of my team. I’m on my way to Shanghai to have the first staff meeting. When I combined the teams, I had 17 people reporting to me. It’s now down to a more manageable 10, including 2 who I brought in. We are working the next level of details and plan to roll out next week. I’m anxious to get this all done and move forward!