I struggled writing this letter because we usually have enough near disasters in our lives to keep the 'ol Christmas letter from becoming too dull and boring and braggy and, oh, you know, like every other Christmas letter you'll receive this year. While 2015 was actually a great year for us, I'll try to recall a few fun and funny facts to keep with the Maloney Christmas Letter tradition. First, the kid recap.
Jason graduated from the University of Tulsa last December with a MBA and a Masters of Finance. However, the reality is there's a lot more jobs for accountants than managers (or financial whiz kids), so he's gone the route several in our family have gone: into the world of public accounting. However, he couldn't be too much of a follower, so he chose auditing (uh, auditing???, hello, everyone hates the auditor) instead of tax. We think it was the right choice for him because he seems to like it and they (Hogan Taylor) seem to like him.
Jason's wife, Alexa, has gone back to school for her MBA at the University of Tulsa. She's born to be a student, always completing her work well in advance of deadlines, seeking help when needed, etc. , everything we lack in the Maloney household. I'm not going to say anything too mean about her because, frankly, she can walk away from this group and we really don't want that to happen, now do we?
Brandon is still working for Manhattan Associates in Atlanta as a consultant. He bought a house in Marietta last December and is living the dream (broken water lines, remodeling challenges, yard work). Speaking of yard work, should I mention he seems well versed in the city ordinances about the allowable grass height and percentage of weeds in a residential neighborhood? Fortunately, he has a roommate that doesn't mind mowing which seems to make Brandon and his neighbors happy.
David and I continue our photography pursuits. Reverting back to our childhood dreams of winning blue ribbons, we both entered an embarrassing number of photographs in the Tulsa State Fair (thought we'd start small before moving up to being freelance with Nat Geo). We both did well and avoided having to compete against each other since we were in different classes. This year could get ugly, though, since we'll both be in the 'open' category. You know how couples are, supportive on the surface but secretly hoping others will recognize our clearly superior skills over our spouse's. Just kidding, dear, you know you're far better than I am :-)
Traveling has taken a lot of our time, with trips to Antarctica (no, polar bears live at the other pole), Iceland(disturbingly attracted to cold destinations this year), NYC, and Moab. To throw in a little variety, we made a stop in Nashville for CMA Fest, a week of drunk cowboys listening to old and new country artists all around the city. And of course, we ended up in the stadium section with a bunch of aged frat boys that loved to smuggle in beach balls which we all got to throw during the show. If you want to read about any of our fabulous adventures, you should be able to find my blogs on each trip on this site (did I mention I'm a little bit of a 'like' hoe on Facebook and Google???).
Hope you and your families have had a great 2015. See you next year!
Jason graduated from the University of Tulsa last December with a MBA and a Masters of Finance. However, the reality is there's a lot more jobs for accountants than managers (or financial whiz kids), so he's gone the route several in our family have gone: into the world of public accounting. However, he couldn't be too much of a follower, so he chose auditing (uh, auditing???, hello, everyone hates the auditor) instead of tax. We think it was the right choice for him because he seems to like it and they (Hogan Taylor) seem to like him.
Jason's wife, Alexa, has gone back to school for her MBA at the University of Tulsa. She's born to be a student, always completing her work well in advance of deadlines, seeking help when needed, etc. , everything we lack in the Maloney household. I'm not going to say anything too mean about her because, frankly, she can walk away from this group and we really don't want that to happen, now do we?
Brandon is still working for Manhattan Associates in Atlanta as a consultant. He bought a house in Marietta last December and is living the dream (broken water lines, remodeling challenges, yard work). Speaking of yard work, should I mention he seems well versed in the city ordinances about the allowable grass height and percentage of weeds in a residential neighborhood? Fortunately, he has a roommate that doesn't mind mowing which seems to make Brandon and his neighbors happy.
David and I continue our photography pursuits. Reverting back to our childhood dreams of winning blue ribbons, we both entered an embarrassing number of photographs in the Tulsa State Fair (thought we'd start small before moving up to being freelance with Nat Geo). We both did well and avoided having to compete against each other since we were in different classes. This year could get ugly, though, since we'll both be in the 'open' category. You know how couples are, supportive on the surface but secretly hoping others will recognize our clearly superior skills over our spouse's. Just kidding, dear, you know you're far better than I am :-)
Traveling has taken a lot of our time, with trips to Antarctica (no, polar bears live at the other pole), Iceland(disturbingly attracted to cold destinations this year), NYC, and Moab. To throw in a little variety, we made a stop in Nashville for CMA Fest, a week of drunk cowboys listening to old and new country artists all around the city. And of course, we ended up in the stadium section with a bunch of aged frat boys that loved to smuggle in beach balls which we all got to throw during the show. If you want to read about any of our fabulous adventures, you should be able to find my blogs on each trip on this site (did I mention I'm a little bit of a 'like' hoe on Facebook and Google???).
Hope you and your families have had a great 2015. See you next year!
