A New Year

So, I'll admit- I haven't been the best at keeping up with the blog. Water under the bridge. It's been a nagging thought in my mind lately to start blogging again- so I'm going to do it. It's good for the creative side of the brain, and it allows me to do a very different kind of writing than I do for work. Win win.

Clearly much has happened since my last post back in 2011 (oh.my.gosh)! Mostly good, with some learning experiences thrown in there as well. To recap: I moved to Houston, got a new job, moved into a house, acquired a new roommate (and her dog), and got a new boyfriend. There you are in a nutshell. Obviously, some of those changes/transitions are much easier said than done- and I in no way want to make light of them. However, I am in an excellent place right now, so we will just leave it at that.

I want to start my re-entrance into the blogging world with this: you are going to see a lot more about my running endeavors on the blog and some more glimpses into whats happening in my world these days. I'm also working on a not-yet-live new blog design.

Here you go:

New boyfriend. His name is Aaron.

New roomie (but an old friend). Houston half-marathon 2013. Ran the entire thing- in. the. rain.

New roomie again- because I love her! Spectators at the Austin Marathon. If you've never been a marathon spectator, you should seriously try it. It's one of my favorite things to do. You can also come up with some raunchy creative signs to keep the runners "motivated" when they go by.  

New roomie again. Us in New Orleans 2013.

New boyfriend again. After the Austin Capitol 10k. Next time, someone please remind me there are hills. Serious memory lapse.

My other new roomie, Huck the husky! He and Sawyer love each other.

Happy 2014! This year I'd like to slow down a bit and enjoy the small things more, love people better and make some more amazing memories with my family and friends. More to come!

Lately

I know it has been quite some time since I updated this blog.... almost 8 months since I last shared with you all. There is SO much to say, and will catch you all up soon enough. So far, the summer has treated me well, in fact, it has been quite fabulous. I'll give you a quick rundown of what has been happening, and we will go from there.

1. In January, I adopted my precious golden retriever mix, Sawyer, from the Williamson County Humane Society. I saw his picture on their website and fell in love. I had to have him. I busted him out of doggy jail. And now I have a 65-pound lover of humans (and toilet paper) living with me. I cannot imagine life without this face:

Sawyer

2. Jenny (my old roomie from college) got married. I know, I know- obviously this is old news.... but I thought I would share some pics just for fun.

Krob, Kim, Jenny and myself at Jenny and Rusty's December wedding

 

3. Ryan got into dental school in Houston!!!!! I'm so proud of him for not giving up and for taking the time to truly think about the path that was right for him! He starts in a few short weeks (more on that later)!!!

Boyfriend

 

 

4. We celebrated Valentine's Day (again- I know that this is obviously slightly old news, but I can't resist the urge to share some pics).

Melting Pot: V-day 2011

5. Played with some of the besties for SING. I never get to see them enough, so getting a chance to spend a weekend together is the BEST. The best part about the weekend: sitting next to a dad who was SO excited that his daughter (one of the SING chairs) placed for Pigskin. I love excited dads- and just dads in general.

Krob, Jfred, Kim and myself. SING 2011

 

6. Celebrated the Royal Wedding with.... wait for it....... a Royal Wedding party!!! Yes, I got up at the crack of dawn to watch. Don't judge- you know you did it too. And no, it didn't disappoint. And yes, there is still part of me that loves a good real-life fairytale. Later that evening, the Weber fam and I made Royal food, Royal drinks and Royal dessert.

Royal cocktails- delish.

Royal food

Blue cake!!!

7. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to slip on my running shoes- because ****big news alert**** I need get to training- I'll be running the Houston half marathon in January. This is something on the bucket list, and I'm so excited to be running with team "Bearfeet."

More on the marathon, bachelorette parties, weddings, beach trips, float trips and mom visits later!!!!! It's good to be back!!!!

The Art of Bustling

This was a good weekend. I didn't have too many items on the "to-do" list, nowhere to be early in the morning- and it was cold outside, which made it perfect weather for doing whatever is was that I wanted to do.

While I would like to be able to say that I spent most of my weekend curled up by a fire with a good book- that would be false. Instead I had other things to accomplish- such as watching the Baylor game, eating some Bush's chicken, and baking some banana bread. Oh yeah- and that other thing- learning how to bustle my old roomie's wedding dress.

Yep. I said it. Jenny- my former roommate and good friend from Baylor- is getting married in December. When did we grow up? When did we get old enough to have weddings- and jobs? I still wonder that. I wonder when the transition happened. In my head, I'm still this little girl- that still needs help with silly things- like remembering when to change my oil, and wondering how many clothes are too many to stuff in the washing machine. Weddings and jobs are for old people- for grownups- not for me.

And while in my head- I might still feel like this little girl- somewhere along the way- I must have grown up. Somehow- sometime. And in that process- I have grownup friends, who are now having very grownup weddings, grownup jobs, and grownup responsibilities. That being said, I found myself in a bridal store on Sunday, learning how to bustle Jenny's wedding dress.

It hit me sometime between the first step of the bustling process (tie the strings marked #1 together) and the third step (tie strings 2-10 together). We have come a long way from arguing about dates for "roomie Christmas"and hanging undergarments around the living room because someone left them in the dryer too long. Instead of wondering who our dates will be for semi-formal or how many people we should invite to "finals fondue", questions now revolve around jobs, brand-new nephews, and fiances. So while I'm just now dabbling in this new grown-up pond. And I'm still testing the waters, and making rookie mistakes- like maybe not knowing what the hell a bustle even is- I think I'm doing alright- and I'm ready to embark on many other new grown-up adventures- rookie mistakes and all.

*I would share the pics of the bustling experience, but I can't have nosey fiances looking for sneak peeks of the dress*

Christening the Kitchen

I can't cook. I'm no domestic goddess- nor do I claim to be. I sometimes wish I inherited the chef genes that run in the fam- but they didn't make it into my set of chromosomes. While I might not ever be able to whip up a five - or even three star dinner- I can bake a pretty mean cupcake.

That being said, after living in my new apartment for two months means that I was way past due to christen the kitchen. I pulled out my dusty trusty cookbooks and went on the hunt for a recipe I hadn't tried in awhile.

After I happened across my Zeta cookbook from several years ago, I settled on oreo balls. For the domestically challenged like myself- it only has three ingredients: oreos, cream cheese, and white chocolate bark. Yes please.

They were super simple to make- and so yummy if I do say so myself. A girl's gotta have her chocolate.

So while I didn't get all fancy and gourmet on you all- they definitely didn't look like this:

Just picture those, and subtract the fancy chocolate drizzle- and the perfectly even white chocolate coating...... and you have something that looks more like this:

But tastes equally as delish. Let's just put it this way- homegirl doesn't need no five star oreo balls to make her happy. An oreo ball- is an oreo ball- fancy chocolate drizzle or not....

I passed the cookbook along to a friend- once I get it back- I'll stick the recipe up here!

The Ebb and the Flow

I've been in a creative rut lately. The bad kind. The kind of rut where you want so badly for something intelligent or witty to flow from your fingertips- but.... I got nothing. I've found myself the past few weeks starting to write a post, but nothing good enough seemed to come to mind. So I would hit the delete button, and end back up at square one. Instead of forcing it, I just decided to give it a rest. And like a really good friend- that sometimes you need a break from- I put my laptop aside- knowing that when I was ready- it would be there.

So here I am- I'm back. I missed writing, but sometimes you need to just give it a rest- and you'll know when you're good and ready to come back. It's the ebb and the flow. Always present- and always faithful. It might ebb for awhile, but it'll be back. And when it does come back- it's better than ever.

That being said- this calm November is a great juxtaposition to my crazy October. The ebb and the flow. It is just what I needed to balance myself out a bit. I'm just now finding the time to finish unpacking those last few stubborn boxes from the move- and the finishing touches are being put on the new apartment. Pics to come once it's all finished. Now that I'm not out of town practically every weekend, I'm finding the time to settle into my new routine. This is a new sense of comfortable to me. And I like it.

Last weekend, a co-worker and I ran Race for the Cure. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't exactly thrilled about getting out of my bed any earlier than I needed to on a Sunday morning- but I'm glad I did. I don't personally know anyone that has been affected by breast cancer, but I sure have interviewed quite a few woman who have survived-or are still battling it. They inspire me.

After that, J-fred and I had a massage scheduled. It. Was. FABulous. And exactly what I had been needing. Work has been stressful lately. Tight deadlines, late nights, and some tough projects have been wearing on me. It would be a lie if I said otherwise. Don't get me wrong. I still love my job- but a girl has got to draw her sanity from somewhere. I found my sanity in a 45 minute massage in a dark room. It worked wonders. After that, a trip to the farmer's market, and a late lunch- made the perfect ending to my Sunday. The ebb and the flow.

Don't you wish you had one of these in your house?

Sorry it's a little blurry- NOT my best photo- but it was the light in the waiting room while we were waiting for our massages. I want one in my house.

And while I wish I had some really eloquent way to end this post- it's just going to have to wait until my creative juices slowly seep back. The oreo balls calling my name on the counter- also aren't helping the situation ;)

Hives and Homecoming

October is one of my favorite months for several reasons:

1. It's finally FALL
2. Baylor homecoming

This month has been crazier than normal- but I guess that is what makes it interesting. Since we have a lot to catch up on, and I finally found my camera cord- I'll share my October so far with some pictures.

The first weekend of October was a benefit concert for my work. It was at the Spider House- good company, good music- and most importantly- for a good cause. The money that was raised- was to provide micro loans for women in third world countries to start their own businesses. Ryan and I had fun, and I was glad that he finally got to meet some of my co-workers. 

The next weekend, Ryan and I went to the Baylor v. Tech game with his fam in Dallas. It was super fun- and I'm sad we lost. The game was at the Cotton Bowl- so we got free passes to the state fair, which was going on. It was SO hot that weekend- definitely wasn't prepared for that- since I wore jeans.... oh well- at least I got to try some fried nutter butters and a corny dog. There was some interesting people watching to be done. Sic 'em!

Last weekend was Jenny's bachelorette party/lingerie shower weekend. I'll have to blog separately about that soon- but it was a fun-filled weekend. It was SO nice to meet the other girls in the wedding party that I hadn't met before, annnd catch up with some good friends!!!!! I'll share a sneak preview:

So- by now you might be wondering about the title of this post... well... let me explain. I am a "like to know-er." I don't like to NOT know something. In fact, I might agonize over something until I find my answer. Which brings me to the hives. The Sunday after Jenny's bachelorette party, I noticed I had three red dots on my thigh. No big- I thought it was just a mosquito bite- after all- it's fall. In Texas. I didn't think twice about it. Until Monday. When I got into work- and little red dots started popping up on my arms. I was slightly freaked out- but what was I supposed to do? Leave work. Nope. Soo... I got home Monday afternoon- and took some Benadryl, because by then, they had started itching. I still only had them on my arms/hands/thighs. I had client meetings Tues-Thursday, so I had to prepare for those- no time to go to the doctor.

So Tuesday, as I'm sitting in the client meetings- I get really itchy- and I just don't feel well. I knew I had to go to the doctor. After work was over- I ran home, and Ryan and I went to Urgent Care... sure enough- I had hives. All over. And. They. Itched. Even worse- no one could tell me how I got them. Was it a reaction with my migraine meds and the Claritin? The unfiltered wine I drank over the weekend? Strange detergent? So, I was put on a strong dose of steroids and Benadryl. It was the worst itch I had ever felt in my life- so I'm glad to put that little incident behind me. But, I'm still pretty freaked out by the fact that I have no idea what caused them. Let's pray it never happens again.

So that brings me to this weekend: Baylor Homecoming 2010. I. Love. Homecoming. It brings back great memories spent at what I claim to be one of the be one of the best places on earth with some of the best people. It's a great weekend to catch up with old friends and make some new memories. It always goes by too fast- and I'm always exhausted at the end of it- but totally worth it. I'll be back year after year. Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend:

 I found JPax at the bonfire.

 We had a little impromptu photo shoot in the campus visits golf cart...

 Visited my old room in Collins. Collins 235

 Took our annual pic in front of Pat Neff.

 Went to Zeta breakfast and caught up with PC '05. Love you girls!!!

 Made it to the ATO tailgate- where the Ryans found each other.

 Before the rain happened....

Our place of refuge while it poured... 

The best ending to the weekend: Baylor beat Kansas State to become BOWL ELIGIBLE. Sic 'em bears!!!!!!

It's Fall Ya'll

So I know I have taken quite the blogging hiatus over the past month- or maybe even two. But no worries, I'm back- and more ready to blog than ever. So as not to bore you with all the little details- I'll just give you a quick recap. Sorry for the lack of pics (my camera cord seems to have gone missing during the move).

Lately I...

1. Moved to my new "big girl" apartment, which I love, but now a month later- and I'm still trying to unpack. Thank God for boyfriends and drills. Pics to come.

2. Went for a weekend trip in Galveston for my 24th birthday. Pics to come. I'm officially old.

3. Have been freelancing for the magazine. I recently wrote a story on breast cancer survivors.

4. Started another bootcamp- this one is only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A co-worker and I go after work since it's right around the corner.

5. Have been working like crazy, but loving it. In between meetings, deadlines and calls, the past three months have been quite the learning experience. I really enjoy it- and I love our team- I am exactly where I should be right now.

On the "To-Do" List: 

1. Take some time to slow down and just enjoy life a little.

And I say that because I am guilty as charged. Too often we go running through life- always with the "next" thing in mind. We jump out of bed in the mornings, run to the coffee pot, desperately wait until the first sip of caffeine does its job, rush through a shower, frantically pull on a work appropriate outfit, and rush out of the door.

Then, we sit in traffic- checking our watches and anxiously tapping our steering wheel as we edge closer to the person in front of us- as if those few inches will get us there faster. When we finally arrive at work- we rush through the door with a few minutes to spare before the first meeting. Well... you get the picture. There is a whole lot of rushing around- until Sunday afternoon rolls around and you realize your entire weekend was spent checking things off of your social calendar- and that you have literally spent maybe 20 minutes to yourself just to be still.

We (and by "we," I mean "me") totally forget to pay attention and be thankful for the things that matter. We become grumpy and rundown. We forget that life- and the people in our lives- make it beautiful. We forget that the 75 degree weather we have been dreaming of all summer- is finally here- and that we should make it a point to take advantage of it on our new balcony. We forget that fall- our favorite season- has finally arrived- and that it's long past due to break out the fall decor. And most importantly, we forget to be thankful.

So now I'm taking time to remember to be thankful for- that first drop of coffee that I know will wake me up, for the smell of fall when I open my door to leave in the morning, for the briskness in the morning that holds all the promise of a nice 75 degree day, for the weekends that are filled with friends and fun- and surely even a few moments where we can squeeze in some relaxation.

And be thankful for these:

these:

And these:

Happy Fall- I'm glad to be back :)