Us. (photos by Kristin)

Several weeks ago my dear friend/sorority sister from another chapter, took long over due engagment pictures of Preston and me. We got engaged on St. Patty's day but haven't had the time to set anything up. We also haven't the time to research any photog's in the Dallas area. I have noticed in the past 2+ years my friend Kristin has taken the best family pictures. So...we called her up and set a date.

The first time we took pictures it was good! Notice I said, "first time". Bless her heart...Kristin's camera got in a fight with the dashboard of her car and lost. Along with the loss of our pictures, were the loss of the pictures of her 2 year olds birthday party. I felt so sorry for her. So...we tried again on our pictures. WOW - it was better than the first time if you ask me. We (Preston and me) knew what we were doing now and it went fast and fun. Afterwards we took Kristin out to lunch, shared some wine, and laughed a lot.

So here are some of the pictures. 2 months to the day til our wedding!

Trick-or-Treat! 19th Century

It's 9:14pm and we have not had 1 trick-or-treater. Granted, I live just east of downtown Dallas and I don't even explore when the sun sets. But it's Halloween! I have been viewing the photos of my friends kids and their halloween adventure and pretty much only one thing has stuck out to me.

MAN WE HAD IT GOOD IN THE 1980/90'S.

We got to go trick-or-treating, in the dark, alone, for hours! All of my memories of Halloween are not leaving the house until it's dark. Then my parents walked with me, up to the age of like...13, and stood at the street. We would then go up to the house, alone, and get our candy. I have watched enough news reels and movies that if I had a child I would be walking up to the front door every time. If the house looked creepy...we would keep walking. When I was a kid and the house looked creepy it was considered fun!

Did anyone else go trick-or-treating after the age of 13 alone? I know I did. I don't have that many times, but I remember one time I went with a group of friends to a neighborhood and we were by ourselves. About 7 girls under the age of 16 dropped off to go house to house.

Have I become old and cynical? Am I a negative nancy?

I cherish my Halloween Days of walking up to a scary house alone with just my sister and knocking on the door in the dark. I miss the dumping of the candy at the end of the night and my sister and me playing candy store. Trading pieces for other precious candies.

Preston and realized a common theme tonight that we suspect is a cover for our parents. Both of us had to have our parents "inspect" our candy before we were allowed to eat it. Now we think our parents "inspected" it to pick out what they wanted. Ha! Can't wait until our turn.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN PEOPLE!!!

A Story. Fiction. Not True.

There once was a girl that was engaged. Her fiance and her spent a really long time picking out HIS wedding band. It was ok for him to know what it look like, in fact..she wanted him to pick it out. It was fun for them. After about 3 months of saving, she bought the ring. It was going to take 2 weeks before it arrived.

2 weeks later.

The girl was walking down the hall at work when a person, that often opens the mail, came up to her very happy and put a opened envelope in her hands. Then said in a excited tone, "sorry I opened it, didn't know what it was at first..it's his ring! I had to look at it, so pretty"

That moment was forever lost that the girl will get to open her personal mail that is addressed to her. The moment she opens up 4 BOXES before she gets to the white envelope that now is shoved into her hands. She won't get to sit by herself and slowly open the mahogany box and look with her eyes at the platinum wedding band she saved up for to purchase for her future husband. Nope. Someone else opened all 4 boxes including the ring box and then told her what it was.

I don't think the girl will ever forgot that feeling standing in the hallway. I'm sure it makes her sick when she thinks about that moment. I bet she can't stop thinking about it and knows that it can't be changed.

I think she knows that it isn't that important and there are worse things that could have happened. But I guess she wanted to have that same joy that anyone has when they open a package that contains a gift they ordered. Although, this was the type of gift that she only planned on opening once.

Hello October (2 of 2)

I would like to state right away that something is messed up with blog spot right now so I can't post pictures and then add captions. I have to blog and then just hope the pictures match up. So to avoid that....I would like to just let you view the pictures alone and figure out how we spent our night after the great pumpkin patch trip. We might...MIGHT...have falling in love with our perfect pumpkins.

Hello October (1 of 2)

Oh we are 9 days into October but I am already loving it...again. Today was the first day of October for me. Si, I know. I'm 8 days late, but whatever...I'm loving it.

All day today I emailed back and forth with my dear friend Kristin about the petting zoos, clowns, people that sleep with mini animals (sounds way more awkard then it was at the time), top 10 worst/good movies, clowns, clowns, and petting zoos. In that order.

Right after work today Preston and I went to the local Pumpkin Patch at the church. I am telling you folks, best.pumpkins.ever. We couldn't figure out which was the best. To the point that when we found our 3 P's the lady at the "church table" said, "you guys were out there awhile". Thanks church lady. We respect the value of the pumpk.

After we found out perfect pumpkins we went to an old fashion steak house and ordered old fashion sirlions with bake potatoes. It was awesome. We then followed it up with old school Blockbuster! They have a whole section dedicated to October Halloween movies. We spent about 15mins picking, came up with 2.

The first one...wow. I wish Durbs was here. It was that amazing. The second movie was actually good. Sweedish and I have the feeling it is about to be released in USA, like normal. Ugh, we suck. But now...NOW I'm watching The Lost Boys. Classic. I love the Corey's. They are awesome 1987. Does anyone else love the 1987 Corey's???? Hotties. Sigh.

Oh' I almost forgot. We took pictures of our perfect pumpkins. We let the little guy watch the first scary movie with us, it was 3D so he wore the glasses. The pictures are cute. Then the middle pumpkin wanted to be a doctor....so of course we let him dress up. By the end of the night, all 3 pumpkins are inside. Safe and warm. One is wearing a ball cap, one is holding a spray bottle, and the last one is sitting in a bowl of starburst. Dont worry. Pictures will follow.

I love Halloween.

Forgetting Your Password Can Be Awful

I haven't posted in a long time because I forgot my password, tired to reset it and then that locked me out. I then said I would do it later...that turned into me still forgetting. yadadaadaaaaa I finally got it reset. What a pain! I understand the purpose, but come on! ugh.

So I have this idea of the perfect chair for the upstairs. I have dubbed it my Lifetime chair. Named after the Lifetime channel of course. It will be what is called a "chair and half". Basically it will be oversized and cozy. It will make me feel like I'm 5'7" instead of 5'11". We found that chair! And it was on sale!! We went back to Dillards to order it tonight in our preferred fabric and guess what..."oh well the one on the floor is on sale...if you want that fabric you have to pay full price." Seriously Dillards? Why don't you just say Floor Sample Sale! I'm so bummed. It's like over $500 difference. sigh. Pretty sure we are still going to get it, but just not as Awesome Deal.

I promised myself I wouldn't post about the planning of my wedding. But I will just say one thing. The hardest part about all of this is that I can't show or even tell Preston what my dress looks like. That is super sad because I am so happy about it. I have to wait close to 6 months before he will see it. So depressing.

On the postive side! My nephew just turned 1 year old and my niece has her first soccer game this weekend. It will be a family filled fun weekend in Edmond, OK. yeah!

The Dash

I have been working with an employee in another state about their Long Term Disability application. I have never met this person, but we have become friends in phone calls and emails. Not being released to return to work and being forced to apply for LTD has been a pretty hard thing to swallow for them right now. Today he sent me a poem that has made it easier for him. I also wanted to share with everyone, as I found it really neat.

The Dash
By Linda Ellis


I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following dates with tears
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those that loved her
Know what those little lines are worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Murder She Wrote

It's on TV!! i love it. i remember watching murder she wrote (msw) with my mom when i was growing up. it was her favorite show. it is so interesting to watch it at the age of 30. angela lansbury looks so young!! and wow - she is whitty. and very passive aggresive. i think i like her. she also is a good stalker. how did she get away with that stuff??

it's like the classic saying, "whay did people hang out with her? every where she went some one was murdered."

she is a smart cookie!

so...let's see what else do i have going on. oh' i can eat again. my wisdom teeth are cured...but not really. i have a nice bone spur on my jaw bone which is apparently common so the dentist doesn't really think it's an issue. how does it feel to me you ask? if you had braces...do you remember when the wire at the end would stick out at the back of your braces? the wire that would poke your check? that is what is feels like. OUCH. they can fix it by numbing me up and (are you ready) file down the bone. I told them no thank you. I will let nature take it's course and naturally round off the bone sticking out of my gums. i know. i'm lucky.

back to msw. she is so smart!! how is mrs. fletcher not an fbi agent? serious. does anyone else find her to smart for an average person that solves crimes? i mean the clues fall into her lap.

ok - the story is getting good. i have to go. i think mrs. fletcher is about to catch the killer!

Music

Music.

It's pretty cool. It can play and you can sit in a room and just smile while you watch someone dance and not say a word. It can be so loud that you try to talk and then laugh as you realize that you can't understand but instead raise you hands and sing alone. People can walk around on busy streets with earphones jamming to their own idea and you know they see the cars, lights, and road rage differntly. The world is one big soundtrack.

I like to think about my best memories seeing my family and friends laugh, hug, and cry all set to music. It is like a Sundance Film that no one else will see but me.

"Ross is Always at the Airport"

I own all 10 seasons of Friends. I cried alone in the TV lounge of Mitchell Lofts when I was 23 and the last episode aired. I remeber calling my mom to tell her the importance of the season ending and how I used to watch the show with my "sisters" in the TV lounge at the GPhiB house.

Still in the fall I will put the dvds in and open the windows to let the cool air in the house. The cool air on a Saturday with Monica walking around with a Turkey on her head in the background is comforting.

Obviously I hope you have picked up on that I watch these shows a lot. I know that Ross told Emily at the airport that he loved her and she said thank you and got on the plane. I know that Ross came back from Japan with Julie only to have Rachel waiting to tell him she loved him, but ended up with a wounded on her head from failing. Luckly she had the flowers to stop the bleeding. And of course Ross had to race to stop Rachel from going to Paris.

My point is....Preston said something tonight I never thought of and yet it was so funny. "Ross is always at the airport". He totally is!!! How did I not see that?

I take it back.....

So it's not the worst 4th of July ever. Our engagment annoucment was in the paper today! Check it out:

Sherrell - Gibson

Jeffery D. & Jane E. Gibson of Bixby, Oklahoma, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Jane Gibson of Dallas, to Preston Ray Sherrell of Dallas. The prospective bridegroom is the son of Ray & Julie Sherrell of Arlington. The wedding will be on May 14, 2011, at First United Methodist Church of Dallas. Published in the Dallas Morning News on 7/4/2010.

Yeah Us! Slightly cheesy...I know. But I remember as a kid always looking at the Sunday paper and reading the celebration page. I would look at the pictures and read every word about the couples. I loved having a glimpse into their weddings. It just seems so cool and real. I like how old fashion it is. Parents letting the community know their daughter is to be married to said family. I just love it. We chuckled at the picture because everyone else had these professional engagment pictures. We took our favorite picture from a Mavs game.

Worst 4th of July Ever

I can't eat the hot dogs, I can't eat the hamburgers. The miller light can't even be touched. I'm living off of soup.

Happy Birthday America - I would like to take back my RSVP to be here for your party.

Wise Words

I had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday. My dentist has been trying to have me do the deed for years!! But there was no need in my opinion. They were in, straight, fully there, and not in pain. They did nothing to me, why should I kick them out of my life? Well, they finally did something to me, one of them grew a cavity. I was so good flossing, brushing, etc...but not good enough. The dentist finally got me to agree, "trying to fill that cavity will be a waste of your money". It's all downhill from there.

So, for my Dallas friends, I made an appointment at Floss. I went to the location next to the Loon. I highly recommond the place. Not only do they accept Metlife Dental, they give you lifetime of Zoom whiteing. Bonus for the wedding! Anyway, I start to get nervous around noon yesterday. It was getting closer to 2pm. At 2pm i had to take a pill that would calm my nerves and then Preston would have to drive me to the place. My appointment was at 3pm. By 2:30 I was feeling fine. Woohoo!

Then...I'm in the chair. I have the gas going, I'm having weird thoughts about vegtables. I always think about veggies when I'm under the influence of morphine or gas. So strange. Anyway, Dr. Steffens starts to pull out one tooth and I'm not liking this. I don't say anything, just lay there. He is done with that one and moves on to the next one. Tears run down my check and he stops. "am I hurting you?" I reply, "no..not at all..it just feels weird. i don't like it. i feel weird" I start crying. Who does that at 30 years old?? Embarrsing. He tells me he knows and he is sorry. He stops working on me and says he will give me a break to adjust after the first one. It can be kind of shocking to have 4 teeth ripped from your head. I'm pretty sure they turned up the gas.

I don't remember much after that. I remember walking out and seeing Preston and getting in the car, then I was on my sofa trying to watch my dvr of Pretty Little Liars. That didn't work! I slept until 6:44 this morning. (according to the email I got on my work phone that woke me up)

Today I'm feeling better as long as I don't walk around a lot and take my medicine. Feeling sleepy now. Peace Out - hello sofa.

Summertime Fun

Back and alive after camping and floating. We had a wonderful time. It was sooo hot though. We took turns getting in the car and enjoying the AC. Can't wait to do it again...only in the fall this time. Here are the pics:

Float On

I'm going Camping!!

There are about 12 of us from work that are going camping and floating this weekend. I haven't been camping since I was in the 1 digit age and I have never been floating. Everyone keeps saying how awesome it is. Fingers crossed I agree with them on Monday.

Last night Preston and I went to Dick's sporting store and purchased a tent, rope, canteen, bug spray, and waterproof box. It was so much fun! We decided to try out the tent assembly last night. The last thing we wanted is to look like we bought a tent the night before, psheee. Who does that? heheheh. We set it up in my backyard. It was so easy! And....best part...I got super excited when I saw it had a doggie/cat door. For real! On the back side is a little tiny door just like the big one, only the size for a small dog or cat. It was perfect! Not that Ashe was going with us, but still! It was there. Preston doubted my story that it was for animals. He got the instructions and..uggggh. Sure enough, it is really for your cooler. You are suppose to sent your cooler up next to it so you can just reach out with out having to open the whole door.

I still like my animal door idea better and it will be that. I don't care what anyone says.

Dallas Zoo

My sister, niece, and nephew came into town last weekend. They were here the 3-6. It was such a great time. I wish I could post all the photos, but we just don't have the time/space for that on here. On Saturday we got up early and went to the Dallas Zoo. It was predicted to be triple digits that day so we wanted a head start. It really wasn't that bad! The Zoo is very shaded and there was a nice breeze that brought the temperatures down. The best part is not anything I have pictures of. My sister got it on video though! There is a new exhibt called Giants of the Savannah. It is were all the elephants, lions, giraffes, etc are housed. It its like a little Africa. Well, for $5 you can buy what they called, "Giraffee Treats". It really is 3 leaves of Roman Lettuce. I bought some for Reese and we sent to the giraffees. Wow! It was so cool. I held Reese up and the giraffe at right out of her hand!! Literally ate out of her hand. She was smiling, I was smiling...we laughed. It was by far the best part.

Here are some pictures of the rest of the day.

I really think Chick-fil-A is a fast food God!

Chick-fil-A is the best business in the world. They are amazing. There is nothing that will compare to their yummy sandwhiches, nuggets, or salads. It's all good. I am 100% sure they but some sort of drugs in their chicken batter that makes one addicted. Seriously. And then it is a time capsule release that opens on Sunday's and makes you crave it sooooo much. It is their plan.

I don't think they would be nearly as popular if they followed behind the other fast food places. Can you imagine a 24 hour Chick-fil-A? I think it would loose their luster. And have you ever been served at the Chick by someone that DIDN'T tell you to have a pleasent day? They are always so happy. The lines are crazy, kids are everywhere, but they serioulsy act like they are happy to be there and serve YOU. Which brings to me to my next question:

What would you do for Chick-fil-A?

Would dress up like a cow? You Bet!

Would you eat in a booth with a dirty little kid at the next table screaming while his sister threw her perfect nugget on the floor? For Sure, might even dive to save the nugget.

I found out today I would walk across multiple parking lots.

For my DFW friends you are probably aware of the Chick locations. They are few and far between and perfect. The most popular location in the World (pretty sure of it) is on the service road of Lovers and 75. It has 2 drive thru lines. While you are waiting in line they have people outside with headsets on that walk the line and take your order to make it go faster. The line just creeps along slowly, but smoothly. It can get soooo backed up sometimes that there are cars on the service road almost to the light waiting to turn into the parking lot itself. You never hear honking, there is no road rage. People politely let others merge, wave on people walking to their cars so they can pass, and it is just a happy drive thru.

So. Today as I get closer I see a sea of red tail lights. There is no way I'm getting 1. in the parking lot. and 2. in the drive thru. It is just a zoo!! Everyone had the same idea. Any other place I would just keep driving and get something different. But not when it is Chick-fil-A, I was still going to eat there.

I drove past the location and turned into Guitar City. Find a nice spot by the dumpster, fun, and began my trek. NO...it really wasn't far, but walked across the parking lot, grass, more parking lot, moving cars, and then I was there. Ahhhhhhhhhh (in a heavenly voice) the doors of Chick-fil-A. I was in and out in less than 5 mins. They are so fast!! I was so happy as I walked back to my car in Guitar City's parking lot. I past other patron's that I could tell were doing the same thing as they smiled at my bag of goodness.

Sigh...happy belly here.

"I followed her into the Loo" - Honey from Knotting Hill

I had an akward moment today at work. But I think it was only akward for me.

I walked into the restroom at work and there was someone washing their hands. We said our polite "hello." "hello.". I walked allllllllll the way to the very last stall, grabbed the door to open it (no, no one was in it. i know that is what you thought i was going to say). As I am opening the door to go in, the person at the sink starts talking to me.

"oh Sarah! I wanted to tell you...."

I am standing there. Hand on the door, one foot in the stall, and they proceed to try to have a work conversation with me about their benefits. Really? Can't this wait until we are out in the business world instead of the "business world". I was so uncomfortable. I mean, I was on my way into the STALL.

Converstations should never happen in Restrooms unless it is after 10pm, you are with a friend, and it involves some good gossip or secrets that you just HAVE to tell them right now and not at the table surrounded by the ones you speak of. Am I not correct on this one?

Does anyone else find bathroom convo at work akward?

I don't know if I'll have enough TIME

Wow things have gotten busy. I don't know how many times I have logged in to post a blog and then something shiney crossed my path and I logged out. I h ave yet to tell any updates! Here are the main ones:

1. Kitchen is FINALLY painted after almost 3 years of living in my house. Preston choose the color. It is called Mustard Seed and is excatly what it sounds like it would be. The color of a mustard seed. I'm really happy with it. Have to do 2nd coat this week.

2. Preston bought a grill and is keeping it at my place as he really doesn't have room on his apartment patio. I have no clue how to use it...but he has come over and cooked some yummy stuff. Bonus.

3. I have pretty much stopped doing my work-out. Not for lack of liking it! I really like it. It just is so hard to get home at like 8pm and want to workout. Espeically after being at work all day. I just can't do it. And then the Mavs playoff games didn't help. Or the company dinners at steakhouses. And don't forget the Rangers Baseball game with $1 dogs. Sigh. If I had no friends...this would be easier. I just can't tell them no.

4. Found a place to have the wedding reception. Don't have a date or a place to get married yet. But I know where the party will be!

5. I took the top off my Jeep for the summer! Yeah. It has been so much fun. I was caught in the rain once, but when the Jeep Bikini top on...I'm fine. That is a top for the Jeep, not for me. I have been enjoying driving it around Dallas. Of course, give me about 34 days and it will be close to 100 and I'll hate Texas.

That is all the updates I can think of off the top of my head. I wish I had more exciting stories. I don't.

My first NFL team.

Growing up in the state of Oklahome we did not have an NFL or NBA team. When it came to sports you were either an OSU or OU fan. That was pretty much it. OKC now has an NBA team, but it really means nothing to me as I quickly became a Dallas Mavs fan 8 years ago when I went to my first game.

When it came to NFL football I watched it and don't get me wrong...I enjoyed it..but have yet to buy any thing that makes me a "fan" of an NFL team.

Until today. 4/22/2010 will go down in history as the day I offically became a Dallas Cowboys fan. It is bittersweet as my dear close bridesmaid of a friend is a die hard death hater of the Cowboys. She would marry Ben Rothes-don't know how to spell it-berger in a heartbeat despite his recent "stuff". The steelers run in her family and she bleeds yellow and black. But I am sorry Karen...I hope you understand.

Dez Bryant of the OSU Cowboys is now a Dallas Cowboy. I couldn't be happier. I jumped off the sofa and fist pumped in the air. Seriously, I have my first true fan of an NFL team. I would have been a fan of whatever the team was that Dez went to, I would have! But the fact that it is in my City AND he is still a Cowboy just is awesome.

Thank you Jerry. Thank you Dez. and Thank you Karen for talking to me still as I wear my Cowboys jersey next you in public.

What a Wonderful Saturday!

I woke up this morning at 10:36am today. I couldn't believe how late it was that this was my first stir. But at the same time I wasn't surprised. For the past 5 days Preston and I have been faithfully doing our Insanity workout videos. They are hard and we have falling on the whole in pain, but we get back up and keep going. My body NEEDED the rest. It felt good. It was/is a beautiful day in Dallas. Not sure of the high in temperature, but I heard a rumor on the radio that it was going to be in the 80's.



I went over to Preston's and he made a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, apples, and bananas. oh' and Hazelnut coffee, one of my favorite flavors. We then made our way to Home Depot. Before we got there we stopped and I redemed my winning scratch-off game to get my $5. It was my first time to win so it was very exciting for me. The man behind the counter at 7-11 could tell how happy I was and played along. Smiling and saying, "here is your winning $5" while displaying my bill. Off to HD!



It was soooo packed! Apparently everyone else had the same idea we did for Saturday yard work. Luckly for us it was the day at Home Depot that Scott's yard products had a display set up. We chatted with the nice man who guided us to the products that would bring my back yard back to life. I walked away with a bag of weed killer/grass feeder, a fertilizer wagon thing, a hose, spray dilley whopper, a shovel, a rake, and 3 bags of Mexican Beach Rocks. Soooo excited!

We went back to my place and first thing first...do Day 6 of Insanity. It was polymetric cardio something. Uggggg, it wore me out. But not enough to stop us from going out in the backyard. We jumped right to it. Long yard work story later, my garage is filled with 7 bags of dead grass and plants/bushes that just had to go. Along with a good sweep and clean of the items in the actual garage. I was so proud of out work. We only used the rake and the shovel of the items purchased, but we got a lot done! I took before pictures so once we are done I will post the whole project. By 5pm we were tired and hungry! Worked right through lunch!!

Tonight we are off for a well deserved "order what you want" dinner. Take that Shaun T!

ChaCha Changes

I was going to change my layout for my blog. I've never had anything different than the black background with a picture of Ashe when he was about 3 years old looking out the window. When I started to look into changing it, I quit. As I always do. The templates and layouts just get to complicated and time consuming. I just want to post.

Today is Day 2 of my Insanity workout. There are literally no words to describe the feeling I had halfway through the video. I could barely do the push-ups, my legs kicking back were limp. I was focusing on the small paint chip that has flaked off on my wall I never noticed before. I couldn't hear or cared to hear what Shaun was telling me to do. I was just trying to focus on doing the correct form as many times as I could before we switched to the next position. My cat kept peaking into the room and would occasionally walk through the room carefully as to avoid getting side swiped. I was in so much pain I couldn't talk. But I couldn't quit either. I had to keep going.

It. Was. Hard.

I don't think I have felt this way since High School in basketball practice. There is even a part of it that you squat, jump up, and shoot a basketball. Not a real one, but you act like you are. That gave me a boost of energy.

This is by far the hardest workout, but I'm going to do it. And go insane.

Day 1

Today is the first day of the Shaun T Insanity workout that Preston and I are going to do. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. We have been jumping rope this past week to get a little in shape. Our bodies were sore, but feel better now.

It's Monday and I have a million things to do. Of course I will focus on work first...but it makes it hard when there are other fun things to do that also have to get done this week!

Goooooooooooooooooo Me!

Cliff Notes to a Relationship

A lot has happened the past 12 months. Here is a Cliff Notes version starting March 2009.

Here is a photo of Duncan, Preston, and me. You see...up until this Saturday I had never spoken to Preston besides the normal walking down the hall at work "hello". Or standing in the parking garage with Duncan talking and Preston was slightly to the side. I wanted to talk to him, but had nothing to say. No reason why I would go over to his desk and strike up a convo about highlighters. That was until this day. Duncan organized a Golf Pub Crawl with people at work. I clearly remember looking at the list of people going and seeing Preston's name. Ah ha! A reason to find out who this guy is!!! So...I went. And this was the picture from the day I met Preston.

March 2009

After that, it really wasn't long before we started hanging out all the time. Going on Picnics!

April 2009

Sweating to death on the patio at Manny's while my niece took our picture. Pretty good for a 2 year old!

May 2009

Riverwalk in San Antonio. Boy did we eat a lot of mexican food. uggggh.

June 2009

I think you can see where this blog is going....here is the rest of the year!

July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

This is my favorite picture from the last 12 months. Not only is it because it as a Mavs game, and it has Preston. It is the best picture because it is about an hour after he proposed to me and I said yes. This is the only picture I have from that night of the 2 of us. I wish I had taken more pictures, but let's be real. Do you reallllly think taken photos was the most important thing on my mind?

Bunco!

I played my first game of Bunco last night. It was so much fun. Aw- I loved it. It was at my friend Kristin's house with 7 other women that I did not know. They were all so nice and fun to talk with. Kristin did a great job of explaining how to play to the newbies like myself. She also had a nice spread of snacks that gobbled up without a care of just meeting these people.

The game started out slow, but then picked up. It was exciting when someone got a Bunco. Like myself, for example, hehehehe. I got 3 Buncos last night!!! I was the Bunco winner and got this awesome bamboo wind chime. As soon as I got home it was put up in my back yard. I slept with my bedroom window open hopeing I could hear it talk to me. Alas, there was no wind and I'm on the 2nd floor. All I got was a dry thoart and stuffy nose this morning from the cool allergy filled air in my room.

Thank you Kristin for organizing and hosting Bunco. I can't wait to play again on the 31st. I've got to practice my rolling skillz.

Pure Insanity

I did something today that is just plain crazy. I ordered this:

A death by workout, take your money, and run program. My friend Adrienne completed it and says it 100% works and is worth it. I'm scared.

I may or may not talk about it on here. Depending on my success or failure. I dare you to do it too. (Durbin. I double dog dare you.)

www.beachbody.com/insanity

p.s. this totally goes against everything I said in my blog called Envy. nice.

Muy Grande

I made a quick drive to San Antonio this weekend. Drove down Saturday and then drove back Sunday. Preston's friend from college was getting married at 3pm on Saturday. So down we drove, showered, changed, went to the wedding, walked to reception, ate, drank, danced, waiting forever for a taxi that never showed, then walked around downtown SA. Back to the hotel, sleep. Then up for a long day of lunch on the Riverwalk. Ahhhh. By 4pm we realized we had to drive back to Dallas that same day. We didn't get far. Only to Austin. opps. But then by 8pm we were back on the road to Dallas.

I hate driving long distance. It is so boring. Preston and I tried to pass the time by eating Starburst but he would give me one and without looking I would have to guess what flavor was in my mouth. That lasted about 15 mins.

Then we played the "what radio station can we get?" That was fun as we heard a lot of old school jr. high songs that made us laugh.

This morning I'm regreting our stay at Cafe Ole until 4pm, but wouldn't change it. I just think I shouldn't have to work anymore. Just a free ride to life please.

Thank you America.

Envy

In my 10's I was a basketball player. I didn't mind or question spending from 1:30pm to 5:00pm in a gym Monday - Friday runing back and forth doing plays. The last hour was usually either conditioning drills or weights. I seemed to have no problem running a court suicide in under 30 secs over and over again. The idea of having to sit on a wall in the squat position while my thighs shook and burned for 5mins just seems like something one does. I never questioned any of it or skipped out.

In my 20's I found running. It was no big deal for me to wake up after a night of going out in college and run 3 miles around Stillwater. That moved into 10k, and 15k's, by the time I was 25. It was so easy to come home from work, change clothes, grab a Power Bar and head to my apartment gym to run a minium of 5 miles while I watch an episode of Friends reruns. I wasn't even dead afterwards. I usually would shower and then meet friends out for dinner or drinks. I even remeber one time running from my apartment in Lakewood on Abrams to my friends apartment on Peak/Live Oak. Seriously???

So, now in my 30's I have come to the conclusion that I'm an eliptical person. After all those years of running and falling on the hard basketball court, combinded with the miles and miles I put on my body of running in my 20's my left knee is done. It has taken it's little knee size white flag, tied it around the 2 screws that live in that knee and started waving. The last race I did was in December, it was 5 miles and I have never felt more pain in my left knee in my life! Even after I ripped my ACL in half. I pushed on through and tried not to complain...but it HURT. It aches when it's cold and if I have it bendt to long it pops and snaps when I unbend it. Nothing's wrong with it, it is fine. It's just old and has been repaired...13 years ago. It's not perfect.

I now envy myself and everything I didn't appreciate. I wish I had worn my bathing suit more in my 20's instead of hiding behind a tanktop and skirt on the edge of the boat. I wish I would have bought the sundress that was so cute on the hanger but I felt like my arms looked flabby. So silly now that I look back.

Instead, I will put on my white tennis shoes and proudfully step on the eliptical next to the 23 year tiny thing that is on mile 6 and chatting on her phone not even out of breath. I will rock my power walk and start looking into yoga. My goals now are to just stay toned and do cardio at least 3 times a week for at least 30 mins. That's all I ask of myself...but it is still so hard.

Especially with St. Patricks day coming up. Hellllllo Greenville Ave!

New Reality Show

Last night there was a work event that Preston is on the committee. We pretty much stayed until the end. Both were a little hungry at that point for dinner. I had pretzels and queso and felt like I was ok, but by 8pm going home....hungry. So we met at one of our favorite places Elbow Room.

We had been there about an hour and the juke box wasn't really playing much songs. The place wasn't cowarded at all as it was a Tuesday night. We got our dinner and pretty much enjoyed watching a single lady at the bar hit on every guy that walked in the door. She was talking so loud we could hear everything. Comical. It was then we deciede Elbow Room is a lonely place. It is the place you go, alone, to just...sit. Granted we love the joint! But, it is in fact a lonely place.

The juke box had stopped playing and you could hear the lady talking and then the regular noises of a bar/grill. All of a sudden we heard the low rumble that was increasing. It started as a drone and picked up. Of course we quickly realized it was the next song. But it got us laughing as we both made the comment that it was as if Elbow Room was taking off. Can you imagine? The whole place starts shaking, the rattle of the bottles and glasses. Pizza's are sliding off of patrons plates. A few chairs tobble over and everyone braces themselves. Gaston Ave starts to go down...or are we going up?!

Best. Reality Show. Idea.

The places shoots out rockets from underneath the foundation and away we go. Up into space. mask drop down and a stick comes out of the floor. We reach for the stick and we are driving the Elbow Room!

So - that is how our night went over dinner. It was enjoyable. Not ever going to happen, but it would make a great show, or at least a good movie!

2007 - 30 Years in 30 Days

I've been looking forward to this year to blog about since I started this. When I heard about the idea from Lauren, I thought it was genius. And then when I thought about 2007...I was so excited. This is the best year of my LIFE. I can already tell you now this will be the longest blog I have ever written as there is so much going on. If you need a snack, something to drink, or bathroom break..take it now. Here we go! Are you ready??

The year started off in Las Vegas, Nevada. A group of us flew out to Vegas to spend New Years together. We got a room at Balley's and it was awesome! Not the room, the trip. It's kind of sad though because on New Years Eve I fell in the limo:

and I dropped my camera case when I did this. So when I picked it up and put my camera back in...the memory card from the first 3 days fell out. The only pictures I have from that trip are from that night. Which honestly, if you are going to loose all put one night of a Vegas trip pictures..the ones you want are your NYE ones. I was very upset about this lost memory card as you can see.

But I was soon over this loss and it was on to celebrate the new year of 2007!!!

This is Katie (who always seems to have her eyes shut) Christy in the back being festive, and then Ashley on my right being just as excited about the night as me. The next story is very near and dear to Ashley's heart. You see, Ashely loves Vince Vaughn. He was in town doing his Wild West comedy show at Mandalay Bay. We had made it over there and I was trying to track down the limo with my lost memory card. I was walking back into the hotel and texting. Not watching where I was going, I walked straight into Vince Vaughn. Right into his chest, sloshed his drink. I looked up and said, "hey Vince!" held up my camera and said, "can I have a picture?" he looked at my mess of a hot self and said, "I'd rather not". He then turned to walk away. I got rejected by Vince, but that's ok. I managed to snap this picture of his back as he walked away up to the Foundation Room.

27 days later the most precious thing came into my life. My Niece. My sister had told us that she was having a girl, but they weren't telling us her name. I was anxious to know the name and had asked Jill if I would like it. She had said to trust her I would love it. So I did. And sure enough, Casey came walking out of the hospital hall and annouced that Reese Mary was here. Reese. When Jill and I were younger we loved the movie Man in the Moon with Reese Witherspoon and would talk about how much we loved that name. It was perfect, and so was she:

In this picture above she looks just like me! That is a picture of me in my baby book the week I was born.

It was then time for my birthday! I was turning 27. I love the resturant Cremona's here in Dallas. It burnt down in 2008 and I cried. But it has since been rebuilt in uptown and I just ate there on Tuesday. Off to Cremona's we went for my 27th birthday with all my friends. Karen and I laughed so hard that night, we had the biggest giggles. There was a picture taken of us laughing and it looks like the perfect ad for shampoo. The flash made our hair look shiney!

Less than a week later it was time to go see Christina!! I love Christina Aguliera. She was coming to the AAC and I was going to hear/see her live. I couldn't wait. Karen was going with me so we ate dinner first and then went. While we were waiting, Pussy Cat Dolls was the opening act. They were ok, nothing to exciting. I really needed to go to the restroom but was afraid I was going to miss Christina. After much deliberation, I left. As I was walking back to my seat in the hall OUTSIDE of the center I hear a roar of cheers. The lights go dark inside and I freak out. No! I am not going to miss this. I ran down the hall of AAC, the security people were telling me slow down, I didn't care. I ran down the stairs (surprised I didn't fall) and push my way down the aisle. The look on Karen's face said it all, "I was so scared you weren't going to make it!". I was too. And then.....she came out. Singing and walking down these steps. I know so many people may laugh at me, but I was overwhelmed with hearing her God giving talent of a voice live and seeing her that it brought tears to my eyes. It was awesome!! Happy Birthday to Me!

It is then one to St. Patrick's Day! It's a big production here on Greenville Ave. They have a 5k race, parade, and everyone just stays out all day. This year I did the race and then met up with Karen and Shelley at Shelley's house off of Greenville. Her brother lived across the street from her and they would have a big house party every year with a band, and brisket tacos. We got out our lawn chairs and just baked in the sun. By 5pm, I was hungry. Because it made sense, I ordered a Cheese and Mushroom pizza from Domino's and told them the address. Almost 2 hours later, they show up and drive right by the house. I kid you not, I was so hungry and still in my running gear from that morning...I ran down the street after the delivery guy! How embarrasing. But I got my pizza and it was great.

Next was summmer time. Karen and I kicked off summer by going to Sundance Square in Ft. Worth for the 8.0's Texas Summer Series. 2 of her friends that she had met before joined us and this was the start of the best summer together. We went every Wednesday night! We had a routine down. Go to Karen's, get a pedi (every other wed), get the Chick-fil-a, and then back to her place. Eat, get ready and off to Ft. Worth we would go. Meet up with Billy and Clint and get buckets of Miller Chill. This was a regular deal the whole summer and man was it fun!

This was also the summer we fell in love with Roger Creager's music. And I want to make sure I'm clear on that, we fell in love with his MUSIC, not him. So naturally we went to every concert he had that year and became friends with the band. Duh! Then I took a brief break from Texas and went back to Oklahoma for Wes's wedding. Congratulations Wes and Julie! I had such a wonderful time and it was a great wedding. Thank you for having me a part of your special day.

Summer was coming to a close and it was time for one last Hurrah to our wonderful time. My old boss/friend has a condo on Lake Travis in Austin that she lets me use every once in awhile. Very nice of her and a good time. Karen and I took off a Thrusday from work and drove down to Austin in my Jeep. Top Off. It was sooo hot and sticky, but it was part of the adventure. I remember on the way back we saw goats in the back of a truck on a trailer...only in Texas. Anyway, we stopped at the grocery store before we headed into town, aka, Lago Vista, TX. We stocked up on goodies and drinks for the next 4 days. Right away we got on our bathing suites and went down to the Beach Club to chill by the infinite pool. And no...I'm not posting those pictures, but they are funny. We spent all afternoon there and then went back to the condo to grill out for dinner. And grill, I mean using a george forman. I must say, for this trip being just the 2 of us we did pretty good with our picture shots! The next day we went Kayaking on Lake Travis. Ok - there is a hilarous story of me loseing my contact the morning of and I thought I would have to wear my glasses on the lake. I know this makes no since and sounds really weird, but I found my contact as we were walking out the door. On Karen's calf. yeah, you read that right. We still to this day have no idea how that happened!! But we found it, and off we went on the Lake. We did get stuck in a bush and couldn't get out. Poor Karen was half under the bush and I couldn't stop laughing. The guide had to come rescue us, the 40+ years olds on the same tour didn't think it was that funny.

Fall was started off by the last Texas Country Concert Festival, Red Dirt Roundup. It is at the Ft. Worth Stockyards and usually is headlined by Cross Canadian Ragweed. This was also when Karen and Josh offically started dating. I also started dating someone, but they are so not worth mention that Karen and refer to him as "Ugh". So that was when Karen and our time of crazy single girls in the Summer of 2007 came to an end. It was by far the best time of my life! There are so many other stories that I would love to tell, but this would seriously turn into a novel instead of a blog.

In August of 2007 I quit working for Clark Consulting, Goodbye Karen, and went back to work for Centex. However, Centex Contruction had been sold to Balfour Beatty Construction and had seperated from Centex Corp. Thus the reason why I was asked to come back. Centex Corp handled all of Centex Constructions Benefits. That was my old job there, so now that they were on their own, my old boss asked if I would come back and help. Of course I gladly came back. Not b/c I was unhappy at Clark, but because I was getting to do more of what I enjoyed, plus I was coming back with a different title, etc. Not long after working there I went with a co-worker to look at the townhome she had just closed on just east of downtown. It was so pretty. I want one!!! I closed on my townhome 5 doors down from her on December 18, 2007. It is 2 stories and I had hardwoods put in and the stairs changed. The transformation:

The year has come to an end. I said goodbye with my last Jingle Booze in an apartment. Back at Adam Hats! Goodbye 2007! I love you, it was amazing year for me. Thank you for all your adventures and the wonderful memories.