Take 5 Tuesday

I'm taking a few min to post 5 random thoughts/questions etc

1.Glee. Love it, love it so much that I had to download the "smashups" from iTunes to my library. Trust me if you need to put a pep in your step add the Halo/Walking on Sunshine to your mix.

2.Speaking of music, have you ever wondered if something happened to you what the music on your iPod would say? Morbid, but I think about that kind of thing. I mean should I be embarrassed that both Brandon Heath (Christian music) and Britney's "3" follow one another on my latest play list? I am slightly concerned about this.

3.Holidays. 45 days until Christmas people. 45. I am NOT ready.

4.Reebok Easy Tone. The ads for this shoe have me intrigued. Toning while just walking around in them? I don't care how lame they look I might have to get some.

5.37 years...that's how long my parents will be married in 2 weeks. 37 years. How awesome is that? As much as I make fun, they are adorable.

Finding Nemo

Do you see him? The best part of being an aunt. I love this kid. Thank goodness Chris feels the same way or when I suggest "let's go see the baby" because that means 2 hours in the car and I know that might be annoying. Especially when we're only going over for bath time.

TX-OU and a little 5K

If you don't like crowds you would hate Dallas during TX-OU weekend, but I happen to love this weekend. We get about 1 million visitors and the town is painted Red and Burnt Orange... it's high energy, with fantastic people watching and it's at the State Fair! Is anything better than a corny dog, beer and one of the best rivalry football games in the nation? I think not.
I spent my first TX-OU weekend starting at the Loon, let's just say that's about all I remember. However, now, 5 years later and happily married I will enjoy the festivities from a friends house at a watch party. A watch party for 80...remember everything is bigger in Texas.



Being a TX transplant I am still shocked by the passion that goes into one's love of their college team here. It's a little freaky. Argue with me all you want but you people are the ones who bring home babies from the hospital in college attire.


Also this weekend is the Dallas Race for the Cure. So before the above mentioned drinking can begin, we will be up at dawn for the 5k. I love this event, and I cry every year. I can't help myself. It makes me feel like my lame issues are nothing to complain about. This year I had to change our team name because someone stole our old one! So we are the Pink Mafia...which is cool and all, but I should have known that it's a common title for teams of Gay men. Nice.

Little E

I had to post this picture because I swear he has all of Rob's facial gestures. This one kills me, and he's kind of adorable. It says "I'm not sure about all this".

Bowling for Boobies

This past weekend I organized a fundraiser, with a little help from my friends, to raise money for the Dallas Komen Race for the Cure. I’m not sure what brilliant staffer decided that the Dallas walk would be on the same morning as the UT/OU game, but they did. With that little snafu many people that would normally participate, will not be participating this year.

So we had a bowling event called “Strike out Breast Cancer” and it was a HUGE success. We had 52 bowlers broken up in teams based on donation amount, and a ton of awesome raffle prizes. It helps to know people that work for the Mavericks, Cowboys, the American Airlines Center, Hilton etc and that we all have generous friends, and companies. The helpers were the usual suspects with one addition. We had Worley, Elizabeth, Julie and Crystal (the newbie). Here are a few pics from the event. I expect more in the coming days.





We raised $2,300, and I think everyone had a great time. I have a feeling this will be an annual event, and hope that it's even more successful next year. Thanks everyone for all your help!

Fall recruiting season

It’s fun to go see various schools and all the future college grads so excited to move into the next phase of life. They approach you, and the other tables unsure of themselves, and how to get a job and the real world. Students usually have done some research and have a few questions but without fail my favorite question asked at least once is “have you ever met Paris?” Um yeah, she has an office next to mine and we are like bff’s. It can be a very long day of pretending that sometimes the real world of having a job doesn't suck...but I don't want to be the one to break their spirits. Not yet anyway.



This past week I was at the University of Virginia and honestly…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful campus. Pepperdine is pretty awesome, but this felt like the college in the movies…or the one we pictured as kids. It’s all brick and white columns, with tree colors changing for fall and sweatshirts at the football games. The town beautiful as well with boutiques, restaurants, bookstores and coffee shops all built into hills and tree covered streets. I told Chris that I've added it to my domestic travel list because I want to go back when I'm not working.

My Heaven

Lake Tahoe. Always has been, always will be. The final leg of the CA tour was in Tahoe because we love it, and because we were married here. We stayed in South Shore this time because it has a little more to do, and my corporate rate was alive and well on this trip. Every time we’ve gone Chris has wanted to hike the Rubicon Trail, and this time we did it! I may have almost died on the way back up but that is irrelevant. The below pics are from the top and the bottom of the hike.



We also rode yet another gondola to the top of Heavenly. Chris wasn’t a fan of the wind gusts that had us rocking, and being that someone died on the chair lift (that was optional) 2 weeks before I couldn't blame him. but the view was the reward. We were above 9,000 feet at the top.




We gambled a little, walked a lot, and of course found places to watch both the Dallas and UT games. The nights were in the low 40’s, and perfect for outdoor fire pits and s’mores. It was 3 days of total relaxation before we headed back to Dallas.

Napa

After 2 days in SF we headed to the next stop. Napa. I booked 2 wine tours in advance, one a cave tour at Robert Sinskey, and a twilight tour at Mondavi. The Sinskey cave tour was lacking, I wouldn’t recommend it. The wine was delicious, but the tour was short, and the guide seemed to rush everyone thru. After that we had lunch reservations at a French restaurant. Lunch with champagne in honor of our anniversary. The food was to die for. In between lunch and the wine tours we went to Sterling Vineyard.It requires a gondola ride to the top and it views are worth it. The wine is ok; go for the view if you’re going to go.



We also had a snack at Taylors Automatic Refresher along the way. It was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives...and it was on my list of things to do.


The twilight tour at Mondavi was probably the highlight of our trip. The winery had closed, the tour was only for 14 people and we had the entire place to ourselves. Sipping wine in a vineyard as the sun sets is pretty perfect, especially when it’s 72 degrees. The tour guide pulled out bottles of reserve along with cheese, meats, olives and almonds. It was a blissful 3 hours. We were only in Napa one night but we plan on going back for more.

Californication

When deciding where to go to celebrate year 1 we picked a few places in California, starting in San Francisco. We kept it low key, minimal agenda and the weather was perfect. In no particular order we rode a cable car (of course), ate amazing food, walked the Palace of Fine arts and grabbed lunch the Ferry Building marketplace. We also took the ferry to Sausalito.







While on a morning walk I saw a beautiful park across from the waterfront. We wandered over; because of course among this amazing park was a starbucks. As we were seated on a bench watching the people walk by we realized...this is not a park...this is a company campus. But what company would have this amazing location...and their own starbucks...not to mention the buildings, day care and tennis courts? None of the buildings were marked and I tried to look at badges but it was clearly top secret. After consulting the University of Google on my iphone, and seeing this fountain as we walked...I realized it was Lucas Entertainment. As in George Lucas, as in Star Wars...the campus of his company.

We also had dinner with my favorite bay area couple Noah and Krystin, who got us into a private speakeasy...password required and all. The cover of the menu says “don’t even think about ordering a Cosmo”. Loved it.

1 year

It’s hard to believe it was 1 year ago. It flew by really. 1 year of wedded bliss. Well bliss might be a little over kill but very close. To the man who checks on my friends and their babies when I’m out of town, picks up my 10 pairs of shoes that I leave around the house, sings the wrong song lyrics in the car, works 12 hour days every week and never complains...I adore you more every day of the last 365 than the day before. Gag away people, after a year married to me he more than deserves this post.

Are you ready?

Tonight, Cowboys...and the Monday night game. I’m hoping that they look better than they have the last 2 weeks. Pick Princess Romo needs to get it under control.


I have one love on the Cowboys, and I happened to get a great picture of him when we were at a pre-season game a few weeks ago. DeMarcus Ware.


I have to say, the staduim is something you just have to see. The jumbotron can’t really be described. Many have tried, but simply put you have to see it to believe it. It’s ridiculous.