I <3 Winter!

Winter is here! Oddly, it is my favorite season. I'd take corduroy pants, warm fuzzy sweaters, snow storms and skiing any day over shorts, tank tops and hot sun. Winter is a time for creating warmth amidst the cold; warming up by the fire next to that special someone, or warming souls through goodwill and thoughtful acts. The spirit of giving can warm a heart like nothing other despite freezing temperatures outside.

Winter also means vacations to the mountains!! Colorado, specifically :-) Tomorrow we leave to visit my Grandma and other family in Denver and then we'll all head off to to the Summit to spend the holiday catching up, skiing, eating, and being merry in Keystone. We've been going there since I could stand, and I absolutely LOVE skiing. The best part about this year is that Luis is going with us! He's never met most of my Dad's side of the family; he's never been to Colorado and he's only skied one other time. Its going to be sooooo awesome and I can't wait!!!!! A whole week off work!

And to top that, a week after we get back, Luis and I are going on his company's annual trip to CANCUN! We'll freeze off all that snow with hot sun and warm water. Seriously can't wait for that either. I've never been to Mexico, so I'm really looking foward to finally marking that off my "to do" list. I mean seriously, is it a crime that I've lived in Texas for (almost) 28 years and NEVER been to Mexico?!? I think so.

There really is no point to this post other than I just got done coloring my hair and I have to wait 30 minutes before I can rinse it out and I need something to do while I wait. Seeing as how my last post was a month or so ago, I figured this was a good opportunity to chat to whoever out there is listening :-) I'm sure I'll have much more interesting commentary after our wonderful vacations. But for now I'm content just typing away and relishing the fact that I don't have to work for the next 7 days. It's beautiful.

I've been so busy at work and with school that I was thisclose to losing my mind. Thankfully all the studying I've been doing has paid off in the forms of 97 and 98 averages in my two classes this semester. Plus my amazing 12 page financial analysis report that my professor happened to think was the "best in the class". Thankyouverymuch :-) School is a little easier the second time around!

I finally got to go to takewondo practice Friday and it was wonderful as well. And then Saturday I got to graduate to my new belt - yellow with green stripe. Moving on up there ;-) I'm so glad to be back in it. Can't wait to get my black belt! My instructors are pretty cool, as are most of the students there. Its a great mix of younger kids and people my age and older. There's always someone my size to pick on ;-) In the Spring sometime we are supposed to be going to another local school for a tournament...I hope they allow head kicks....haha!

Okay, okay, I'm rambling and this is boring and its about time for me to wash out. To be continued....

Baseball Talk

Soooo, I never watch baseball. At least never on TV. And I rarely go to games. Mostly it's because our (Dallas) baseball team sucks. And if they happen to not be sucking, its pretty certain that if you give them enough time, they will begin to suck again. And by suck I mean the following:

• the Rangers are the ONLY current MLB franchise which has yet to win a playoff series
• they have NEVER won a home playoff game
• they are 1 of only 3 current MLB teams to have never gone to the World Series
• they are the oldest active MLB franchise yet to appear in the Series
• they are the oldest franchise in ALL FOUR major American pro sports leagues to have never appeared in the league's championship
  
• they are the ONLY Dallas/Ft. Worth area professional team to never reach the championship

In a word, LOSERS. And THAT is why I don't watch baseball. I consider myself pretty loyal so I don't feel right rooting for another team. On the small chance I do attend a Rangers game, I'm only there for the beer and the nachos. I have absolute faith that they will not win; and if they do, they surely will have a sub- .500 record. Maybe that's terrible of me, but that's how I feel.

The only time I do watch baseball is during the World Series. And even then its more of a lack of better programing than an actual interest in the game or the outcome. And it makes me sad! I mean, baseball is America's pastime! It should be a part of of all our lives, and not just when the Series rolls around. I really wish that I enjoyed baseball more. While watching the current series, I almost feel envious of the fans and the emotional connection they have with their teams. It must be so exciting to watch your team play in the World Series! But I wouldn't know.

It would be great to cheer, wholeheartedly and unconditionally, for our ball club.....but I don't root for losers. Sorry boys.

Go Yankees!!! (kidding) :-)

Surveys usually drive me nuts. They are normally comprised of, I don’t know, THE DUMBEST QUESTIONS EVER, not to mention all the typos and misspellings after being passed around so many times. I found this particular survey on someone’s blog awhile back, and actually liked it, so I thought I’d save it for a rainy day. And since its been raining since September and I'm a little dry on creativity at the moment, here you go!

Current Book(s): Recently finished The Celestine Prophecy and have now started reading the Bible again.

Current Color: Red and Orange mixed together. Yay fall!

Current Drink: Lots of coffee

Current Food: Soups – homemade chicken tortilla and homemade chicken potato

Current Song: Kings of Leon - Closer

Current Favorite Show: NFL games

Current Wishlist: Silpada jewelry

Current Needs: Mo’ money

Current Triumphs: Scored a 94 on my 1st test in graduate school! And I graduated to yellow belt in Taekwondo last weekend

Current Celebrety Crush: Dylan McDermott - Dark Blue

Current Mood: Tired of the rain

Current Bane of my Existence: The rain and my stupid LEAKING “new” car; and bills

Current Link: Silpada

Current Indulgence: Chips and Rotel dip

Current #1 Blessing: My sanity

Current Slang or Saying: “WHO are you throwing to?!?” (football reference)

Current Outfit: Jeans and long sleeve t-shirts

Current Excitement: When the Cowboys win and Wednesday night sparring sessions in taekwondo

Dallas Heart Walk

This weekend I'm participating in the Start! Heart Walk sponsored by the American Heart Association to raise money and awareness for heart disease and stroke, the #1 and #3 killers in America. As some of you know, this disease has affected my family with the passing of my Grandpa a few years ago. My personal goal is to raise $375 for the cause. By making a donation, you can help increase funds for research and education to stop heart disease.

Please visit my webpage to make a donation and learn more about heart disease.


Click Here to Donate

Thanks for your support!!

Picture Update

My life in pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

I know everyone has been hearing the buzz about the new Cowboys Stadium. I can speak from experience and say that it should be added to the Great Wonders of the World ;-) Okay, so maybe its not THAT great, but its pretty darn close. At least its a million times better than the old stadium. We went a month ago to take the tour but didn't realize the Gold Cup was going on (soccer tournament) and they weren't having tours, so we bought soccer tickets instead and took our own tour. Two weekends after that we made it to the official tour. It was amazing; we got to go to all the behind the scenes places like the media rooms, suites, field level suites, AND the locker room :-) That was my favorite part ;-) And last weekend, we went to the 3rd pre-season game against the 49ers. It was AH-Mazing. I don't even care about the fact that we lost; its preseason and all the starters went out after the half...whatever. Don't care. The atmosphere was electric. You HAVE to go. One word of advice though: get nachos BEFORE halftime; otherwise they run out. :-( Other than that, it was a wonderful experience.


1. the stadium....kinda looks like a spaceship

2. security guard with an automatic rifle

3. the boys running out

4. ROMO

5. me under the massive steal arches

6. me and Lou at the game

As most of you know, I practiced Taekwondo while I was at A&M and was able to travel and compete in quite a few tournaments. Officially, I only reached Blue belt level, which is 2 belts away from Black. Since graduating, I have had a very strong desire to get back into it so that I can eventually earn my Black belt, but finding the time, money and the right school has deterred me. Three and a half years later, I finally stopped making excuses and have joined a school in Richardson. Though impressed with my previous background, the instructors at this new school firmly felt that I should start at White belt level.....all over again.....at the beginning..... Yay. I was not happy about it at first but now I'm glad I did because I'm getting to perfect my technique, plus learn the basics in other types of martial arts such as Japanese jujitsu (self defense) and arnis (stick fighting). So even though I'm back on the bottom rung, I am progressing really well and the instructors challenge me each class. As a compromise, they are allowing me to test more frequently than other students. So that's good. After being there for about a month, I tested for my next belt last Tuesday, graduating from White to what they call "High White", or White with a Yellow stripe.

1. warming up with some American splits

2. punching in horse stance


3. front kick...or maybe end of axe kick, not sure

4. receiving my yellow stripe :-)


About a month ago, Luis got "boat fever" and has been wanting to buy a boat really bad. He finally did a few weeks ago. It's not new and it needs a little cosmetic work, but it runs great. We took it out on the water for the first time this past weekend. Didger loved it! I am not "allowed" to post pictures of the boat until it is "finished", but here's a sneak peak ;-)

1. fun in the sun

2. for Didger too!

3. the boat from far away ;-)

Rant

Would someone please tell Brett Favre to SIT DOWN. Seriously, how many times is this guy going to retire? I can understand having second thoughts about it, but just once. Save face and move on with your life. No one wants to watch you prance around in your purple tights and try to prove that you're as good as you were a few years ago. Because you're not. And the fact that you're wearing purple just makes it all the more painful for the Sunday audience. I mean we already have to deal with Michael Vick, and we'd much rather not. And yeah, maybe you're better than Rosenfels and Jackson, but at least they don't look like neurotic idots. I'm thinking I'll boycot all Vikings and Eagles games this season. :-)

GO COWBOYS!

The Fitness Spot

Just wanted to let you know that I started a fitness blog. You should totally check it out for lots of up to date info on health and fitness. There are some great links on the blog roll as well, including sites for muscle building, nutrition, and women's health. I intend to post pretty regularly so be sure to stop by and get some fitness in your life!

The Fitness Spot

Best Wedding Entrance

I must be living under a rock because I had no idea about this, but a wonderful friend forwarded it to me and it made my day. I promise it will bring a smile to your face...and maybe a joyful tear or two to your eyes. :-)

JK Wedding Entrance

A New Direction

I have some exciting news!!!!

I received my acceptance letter in the mail today for the graduate program at Texas Woman's University!! Yay for me! I am going to be working towards my Masters of Health Systems Management, which is basically like an MBA with health care management as the focus. I will continue to work full time and go to school part time; just 2 (or 3) classes a semester. For this program, it will take me about 2 years to complete, which isn't too bad. Especially considering that if I pass my classes, my company will reimburse me for my tuition. How could I not pass that up?!

Needless to say, I am very excited about this and really looking forward to being back in the classroom. I can already feel a new sense of direction, structure, and purpose. I know it will be challenging, but I am definitely up for it and ready for whatever they throw at me.

So that's the update! Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

GO PIONEERS! ;-)

King of Pop

"Lift your head up high

And scream out to the world
I know I am someone
And let the truth unfurl
No one can hurt you now
Because you know what's true
Yes, I believe in me
So you believe in you
Help me sing it..."

Best Michael Jackson song ever. In my opinion.

So the guy was a whack job. There are enough people out there talking about all the terrible things he did. I don't have to repeat them here. As a person, he was a sicko.

But as an artist, he was a genius.

No one can deny the profound impact he had on the music industry. He broke barriers and paved the way for pop music as we know it today, and for that we should salute him as one of the greatest artists and entertainers of all time.

Sorry to see him go.

"If you don't like what I'm sayin', then won't you slap my face..."

Sew Crazy

Sew.....lately I've had the sewing bug. My friend Angela came to visit one weekend and we had a craft/sewing afternoon together. It was awesome. Since then I can't seem to get enough sewing! It's totally weird (for me)!!! Just thought I'd post some of my projects I've done so far. Mind you, they are by no means perfect; I'm still in the learning stages.

This was our first project; we made thumb tacks from buttons :-)

Angela made me a Cowboys pillow; so I made Luis an A&M fleece pillow

I made these coasters for my Momma for Mother's Day


My premature attempt at a Drunkard's Block....curved lines are HARD!


This was supposed to be an Hourglass block but I messed up on the purple squares :(


Finally, this is a simple tissue holder I made in about 5 minutes from this tutorial.

I ordered some really awesome fabric from this place; they have a ton of really cool fabric for a decent price. Hopefully by the time it comes in I'll be able to sew straight and make my edges match :-)

Book Review

I don't consider myself an avid reader; I'll read maybe 3 books a year. I don't have a favorite book or author really, though there are a few I've read lately and really liked (Life of Pi; Blue Like Jazz). I used to read a lot for pleasure when I was younger, but it seems there is no time these days to read anything, especially for pleasure.

Until now. I love reading. My favorite author is Stephanie Meyer and my favorite book is Eclipse (3rd book in the Twilight series). I will create time to read all 4 of the books again. I think I'll read them again every year. Seriously. No book I have ever read has kept me up until 2 am on a "school night" just to get to the next chapter. I have never cried with or fretted over or felt emotionally connected to any charachter in any book until now. It is unreal how this story just sucks you in.

I know a lot of you are thinking, "Yeah right; I saw that movie and it sucked". Well guess what. The movie did suck. The book however, kicks your @%$.

Go to the store. Pick up the Twilight series. If you never read another fiction book in your life, at least read these. You'll be thanking me later. Promise.

**The soundtrack is pretty awesome too. :-)

I mean seriously, can you resist this?!
:-p

Weather Rant

Holy Lord, I am so SICK of these freaking clouds and rain. Isn't it Spring?! Isn't it supposed to be sunny so the freaking May flowers can grow? I swear its been consistently overcast for 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS. I am pretty sure this is contributing to my foul mood lately. I've been so easily irrated lately and I'm POSITIVE it's because of this stupid weather. It makes me sleepy and it makes me not want to work out, and of course if I don't work out then I'm a grouch. And no one likes Sarah The Grouch.... So. The point is that this weather needs to change, drastically. Bring me the hot, scorching sun. Bring me tank tops and flip flops. Bring me the dry heat. Bring me 10 hours of light!!!!! Bring me public swimming pools and front yard sprinklers. But PLEASE!!!!! For the love of all that is good, STOP RAINING!!!!!!!!

Gone Country

About an hour or so north of Big Bend National Park, off a deserted two lane highway in the middle of West Texas, is paradise.

I'm not talking about a tropical paradise, where the crystal blue water laps at the white sand beaches and the faint smell of tanning oil catches in the breeze through the palm tress that shade you while you sip your frozen strawberry daiquiri. No, the kind of paradise I'm talking about is much different. In this paradise, the weather is hot and dry and the horizon stretches for miles with no other signs of human life. The ground is dusty and covered with cactus and other scrub brush. The only relief you get from the heat is in the shade of your Stetson and the only thing to quench your thirst is the contents of your aluminum beer can. Your sources of entertainment include picnics under a Madrone tree; shooting rattlesnakes with a 9 mm; feeling the wind in your hair as you ride in the back of an old pickup as it races down a long dirt road; grilling on an open flame; watching the wild havalenas as they come down to feed; singing along with a guitar and a guy who thinks he sounds like Robert Earl Keen....

Yes, this is true paradise; and I was lucky enough to experience it for three wonderful days with the best of friends.

Adventures of Eric

As most of you know, my brother Eric has been in China since the beginning of January. He’s been teaching English at a university camp called Storm as well as doing a ton of traveling. He is really enjoying himself and has been sending frequent emails updating us on his adventures. I decided to post a few excerpts on here along with some pictures. He’s posted a ton of pictures on Facebook. I know many of you…uh…older folks don’t do Facebook so I have chosen a few good ones for your enjoyment.

1/24/09

So I am alive. There was no internet at the school and it took about an hours walk to get away from the school and into town, so we weren’t having that. Class was good though. I taught the level A kids which was harder and easier at the same time. Harder because they speak little English, but easier because the things I had to teach them were much more basic. Also, they are, on average, much younger than the C level that I usually teach, so we played a lot of games. Yesterday I went into town to meet up with a student, Amber, who is staying with her Aunt in Beijing for the spring festival. We ate some Pizza Hut (her idea) and toured the Birds Nest and chilled at a ShinBaKe (Starbucks) and did some shopping. It was insane cold, almost -20 Celsius and super windy. So the tour of the Birds Nest was quite unpleasant.

The Bird's Nest and Qingdao Olympic park area

2/11/09

I was teaching at my camp and then went directly to a new school for a few more days so I have been internet-less for almost 2 weeks. Everything is going very well. My storm camp was awesome; the kids were cool as ever and classes went well. I taught 1 level A and 2 level B. Met a lot of friends and had a few kids come back from past camps. All in all, very good. The morning after the camp I was taken to a new school where I taught 3 more classes. These were slightly different classes but I still did a lot of conversation exercises. The kids levels of English varied a little more in each class but I made it work. I taught there for about 4 days, 3 classes per day, about 11 hours teaching per day.

Class C1 and Class C2

2/21/09

I am in Qingdao right now. It is in Shandong Province on the eastern coast. I was here last summer and I came back to visit some of my friends again. I am staying with Alan, the same person I stayed with last time. I'll be here for 2 more days then leave for Weifeng, which is very close to Qufu, which is where Confucius was born. After that I will go to Tai'an and climb TaiShan (Mount Tai) with a friend. Then I will head south to Nanjing (South Capital) and then to Shanghai and then to Hangzhou, all very big cities. I just recently left a small city in Shandong called Jimo where I lived at a restaurant owned by the parents of a student. It was very interesting to live in a restaurant. They put a bed in one of the small dining rooms and I hung out in the lobby a lot. OH and they let me cook! I made them chili one night and then omelets and taquitos the next morning, they were very impressed. I ended up staying there for about 5 days.

The restaurant he lived in for a week, the family he stayed with, and the food he cooked.

2/27/09

Well, I am in Tai'An right now. After I left Lancun (the restaurant) I went to Qingdao to see Alan. Then I went to WeiFang to see Daisy and we went to a few museums and to the town she was born in. You know the city of WeiFang invented kites thousands of years ago. Yep. The birthplace of kites. Every year in April there is a huge kite competition and all that. ShouGuang, the city she was born in is the largest producer of vegetables in China. They have a huge exhibition hall and a large show every spring. I just arrived in Tai'An last night. Tomorrow I think we will go climb Mount Tai. We may not be able to because it takes so long, but we'll see. After that, I was going to go to a few more cities, but I have to go back to Beijing first. I lost my ATM card and I can only replace it at the bank that issued it. I can’t even withdraw money from the same bank in a different city without that card. Stupid right? So I have to go back, get a new card, and then come back this direction. Terrible.

Weifang, the city that invented the kite. The 2nd pictures Eric notes, "This room was called, loosely translated, "18 angry women making kites all day long wondering what their lives have become".

This is when he climbed Mount Tai; he says it was 7,000 steps to the top and took him about 5 hours to climb. The first picture is the hotel at the top where he stayed.

3/25/2009

I think I mentioned that I lost my Chinese ATM card so I had to go back to Beijing to get it replaced after I left Tai'An. I stayed there for a few days then left again for Bengbu which is a small town in Anhui province. Probably the noisiest city I have ever been in. After that I went to NanJing which is the old capital of china. It has a super long history and lots of neat stuff to see. I stayed there for about 6 days and met quite a few people. It’s a nice city, though not as cosmopolitan as Beijing. Very old mixed with very new. Kind of weird. Then I went farther south to Hangzhou in ZheJiang province and stayed at a hotel near my friend’s university. We visited West Lake and some marshland and some other water related things. Very wet here near the coast. Anyway, I spent most of my time hanging out with her friends, visiting sites and things. Then 2 days ago I arrived in TaiZhou which is very near to NanJing. I thought I was going to a different TaiZhou which is farther south, but I was wrong. So back to Nanjing then a bus to this TaiZhou which is probably the most depopulated city I have seen in China. I gave a lecture the other night to about 250 students about why they should speak English and not just study English. It is very common for Chinese students to know a lot of grammar rules and vocabulary, but most of them cannot speak very well at all. This is something I try to combat. So tonight I will go to Nanjing and tomorrow I will take a train to HongKOng to renew my visa. It will be a... 30 hour train ride, more or less. Tons of fun as you may well imagine. From HOngKOng i'll visit Macau which is right on the southern coast of China. Lots of gambling there. A very fun city from what I hear. Then I will travel up the central china, stopping maybe 4 or 5 times, then back to Beijing.

View of Nanjing, dragons at XuanWu, and the Goddess of the Lake at XuanWu.


He'll be back May 4th!