Working 9 to 5…

…or maybe just 8ish to 11ish…but apparently that’s long enough! Megan is at work with me today for my ½ day and she cracks me up. She’s being so good, watching YouTube on her new laptop…picking out the root beer jelly beans...and playing on my white board. What more could a girl ask for!

A few of my favorite things…

From Amy. Amy gave Angie and I gifts yesterday at our ‘last hooray before Christmas’ as Amy referred to it. Angie and I prefer to think of it as our last beat down…our little reminder that Amy will be ‘watching’ us through the holidays…the reminder being the soreness felt with every slight movement made. Oh, how I hurt today.

Amy is super, super creative. She’s always finding new fun stuff to do with her girls whether it’s planning a birthday party, making school party favors/snacks, a new hairdo or a fun activity at home…but it’s all pretty much handmade and ALWAYS super cute. So, this year, we weren’t surprised by the creative gift she came up with for us…also another ‘reminder’ to eat clean and healthy…and that she’s always with us in spirit. See below for pics.

 Chili packed with all the nutrients we need...low cal, low fat, high protein, high fiber. Excellent quick and easy dinner...and 1/2 can at a time, Amy approved. Oh but you can add some fat free feta cheese to make it even better. I asked if I could add some water to help it to fill me up. Ha!

 In case you are in need of a light snack, something 'not healthy'...this is a perfect soloution, healthy, yet not too healthy...Amy approved.

 Her favorite running socks...think these will help me wake up one Sunday morning and think to myself, "Hmmm, I feel like running a 1/2 marathon today. I think I'll just head down to White Rock Lake and enter myself into the race!"? I think not. But, it worked for Amy.

Mmmmm, chocolate...flown straight from Belgium, especially for us. How nice. According to Amy, this is the best chocolate in the world. Now it may seem like she's allowing 'one big splurge' but no...we had strict instructions that this single bar of chocolate should last us at least 6 months. One little bite at a time. That's all you need. (I'm thinking I'll open it in 5 months, 3 weeks and 2 days...eat all but one bite as my pre-workout breakfast...and then show her how long it lasted! Go me!)

I want to be Amy when I grow up. I want to have the body like Amy. I want to run like Amy. I want to have the clean eating habits (and self control) of Amy. But, let’s face it…that’s a long road to go for me so maybe I’ll stick to what I know. :)



Year In Review: Highlights of 2011

I know I said I was going to start with 2012, but I had such an amazing past 12 months or so, I’d thought I would give a quick cheater bullet list to show the abundance of blessings in my life!


Nov/Dec 2010
 • Not technically 2011, but a couple of things worth mentioning…First, Costa Rica. Ahhh, Costa Rica. It was fabulous. Such a gorgeous country with so many activities to enjoy. Kathy, Amber and I took a girls trip for 8 wonderful days. We ate some of the most amazing food I’ve ever had…actually we gorged…and gained a few lbs…but it was AMAZING. We had massages, we went zip lining, we hiked the Arenal Volcano, we spent an evening soaking in the Tabacon Hot Springs, we went white water rafting, we walked on the beach, we read several books by the pool…and we ate A LOT.

• Secondly, Lisa finally convinced me to join match.com. I was only on it for a few months, but highly recommend it. It’s a great place to ‘meet’ people and weed them out before the actual, awkward first date. It has its flaws but overall, it has great potential. I have some great stories out of it for sure…including the new words ass-tastic and blowski, as well as, about 15 offers of steak and wine from the same guy in his 50s that just couldn’t get the hint. A couple of my women’s bible study nights ended with my match profile on the big screen and the entertainment of some guys and their emails/comments/profiles. Good times.

January

• Aggies make it to the Cotton Bowl! All the Aggies gather at Lisa’s for a game watching party and dinner. Fun!
• Dallas gets snow…and lots of it! And I ‘borrow’ a cute kiddo to play with me in it!

February

• Cirque de Soléis comes to Frisco!


March
• Angie and Ron get married!!

• Megan turns 10 and we have her party in Dallas at the park with the Andersons and Lyles!

April

• Granny turns 80!
• Easter Potluck dinner at my house…and Brandon Woods walks in my front door, not knowing anyone, but confidently meets part of my group of friends with no knowledge of what the future held for him. :)


May
• Lisa, Mica and I take our mom’s on our annual NYC trip…Mother/Daughter trip of a lifetime! We shopped, we ate, we negotiated, we walked, we ate, we laughed, we hit all the touristy spots, we ate, we went to a broadway show, we met all the ‘plastic’ stars, WE MADE MEMORIES…and we ate some more!!

June

• Megan’s 1st dance recital

• Lisa announced her 4th pregnancy…what will it be this time!? He...or she...

• Fabulous (free) trip to Hawaii – Ritz Carlton, zip lining, shopping, food, wine, catamaran and snorkeling tour, helicopter tour over Maui, beaches, tried ahi tuna for the first time and fell in love with it…yum!!

 July

• Annual summer week with Megan in Dallas – pool parties, girlie dinners, cookie making, aquariums, girls only sleepovers, train rides, mani/pedis and photo shoots…so much fun!!

August
• Finally bought my Mac. Love.It.
• Kathy’s Baby Shower!

• 8/14/2011 – First real date with Brandon. Hadn’t seen or heard his name since Easter. He pops up on my facebook in a tagged picture with a mutual friend. I see it, send him a friend request…and he immediately starts a conversation and asks me out on a date! We start dating exclusively right after that! And I'm a big fan :)


• Annual River Trip – Malpractice/Doctors & Nurses Theme

• Begin seeing the acupuncturist (aka Dr Voodoo) for my sleep issues…doesn’t do much for me over the next couple of months so I quit


September


• 7 day Cruise in the Caribbean with Jill, Bruce and Shane. Jamaica – catamaran and snorkel tour. Grand Cayman – Swimming with the Dolphins and Stingrays. Cozumel – laying on the beach/swimming in the ocean

• Lisa’s big gender reveal party…IT’S A BOY!!

October


• Celebrate Bama’s birthday in College Station. Aggies beat Baylor!

• Mom FINALLY gets to skydive. Her lifelong dream! And she loved it!

• Rangers make it to the playoffs and Brandon and I get to go the final game at the Ballpark. Such a cool event to be at!

November


• Harper is born! Such a beautiful, sweet blessing!

• Twilight – Breaking Dawn: Part 1 – I saw it twice in one week. Once with Ang and once with Mom. So good! Can’t wait for the next one!


December
• Jury Duty – First assignment, not one of the 12 jurors selected but it took about 12 hours before I knew that. No Fun!
• Minute to Win It game night at Lisa’s house – Mica, Lisa, Kathy, Amber and all of our guys! Good times!

Brandon and I win!!

• Telluride Ski Trip with Brandon, Amber and John – Gorgeous views, fantastic food and fabulous friends! 2 days of skiing and 1 day of snowmobiling, lots of eating, happy hours, walking the town, riding the gondola and…AMBER AND JOHN GOT ENGAGED!! Absolutely amazing setting…top of the mountain at sunset and a stunning diamond ring!! So exciting!!

New Year, Fresh Start

I know, I know…I’ve said it before, but I’m going to try start writing a blog again. No promises, but it’s a start. Not really sure where the inspiration is coming from, but I did read something the other day regarding blogs/picture albums/scrapbooks…the advice, don’t look back. Just start new and move forward. So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve been overwhelmed by the thought of starting a blog and not knowing where to begin since I’ve had so many awesome things to write about in the past couple of years. I have no doubt 2012 is going to be the best year yet…so let’s start there.

Any suggestions...any advice on new 'things to know' since I last blogged...any ideas on a new 'look'...all welcome from my blog experts.