Look! A post!

Oookay so it's been way too long since I've written. Thanks to Lauren and Gianna, now I feel like I need to get on the ball here and make some more posts!!

And what is there more exciting to talk about than my upcoming nuptials?! We are a little under four months away! I can't believe time has gone by so fast! I remember a few weeks after the engagement talking about a possible October 2011 wedding and thinking that it would be no problem to throw together in that (huge) amount of time. No worries that I was in my last semester of grad school....I could totally do it. And now October has come and gone and I see that there would have been NO WAY I could have planned everything the way I wanted in that amount of time. So many things to consider and take care of! While I was jumping at the bit to have a wedding as quickly as possible (hey, I already waited SEVEN years!), I am glad we decided to hold off until the Spring. It has been a much more enjoyable ride than I expected and I am really getting to cherish every moment of precise wedding planning with my family and friends!

What have I done so far you ask? Well let me tell you all about it! Wedding venue? Check! Wedding reception site? Check! Dress? Check! Invitations? Check! DJ? Check! Amazing Bridal party? Check! Complimentary wedding colors chosen? Check! Photographer? Double Check! Awesome photo booth? Check!

I do have to give a shout out here about our wonderful photographers. They are Chelsea and Mack McGowan, of McGowan Images. This awesome husband and wife duo are the coolest couple! And their photography skills are amazing! They really captured the essence of our relationship in our engagement pictures and we had such a fun time doing them! I am so glad they are going to do my bridals and the wedding as well! I am SUPER excited about getting my bridal pictures taken. We are doing them at the Winspear Opera House in the Arts District in downtown Dallas. I think they are going to be pretty awesome. :-) We love you Chels and Mack!  Most of you have probably seen our pictures on their blog and facebook, but I'll post a few here, just to show off again. I highly recommend them for your next photo session.

 

 

So what's left? Flowers. Cake. Alcohol. :-) Oh, and the Bachelorette party. Can't wait!!!

Fight Heart Disease and Stroke

Unfortunately, too many of us have a loved one affected by heart disease or stroke.  To help stop this, I will be walking in this year's Heart Walk benefiting the American Heart Association. This is the third year that I have participated and strongly support this cause. I have set a personal goal to raise funds that are needed for critical heart disease and stroke research and education.

You can help me raise funds and protect those you love by making a donation online.  Click on the link below  or on the icon on the left side of the page to visit my personal donation site where you can make a secure online donation.  The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00.  If you prefer a smaller amount, you can do so by sending a check directly to me.

Your donation will make a difference in the fight against our nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers-heart disease and stroke.  Thank you for your support!!

If you are interested in participating in the Dallas Heart Walk, it will be held at Victory Park in downtown on September 10th.

LolaLand Creations: 250 Facebook Fan Giveaway

Head over to my dear friend Laura's blog today and enter her giveaway for a super cute crocheted baby headband (there's an adult one too if you don't have a baby!) 


LolaLand Creations: 250 Facebook Fan Giveaway:

Check out her Facebook page and see all the adorable handmade products! 
I mean seriously! How cute is this?!

Go visit her and tell her I sent you!

Paper

So yesterday we ordered the Save-the-Date cards! I'm so excited!!!

We're getting all the paper products from this company called MagnetStreet. They have entire wedding suites complete with coordinating save-the-dates, invitations, programs, thank you cards, envelopes, return address labels, etc.  I'm usually not the "matchy-matchy" type, but for this occasion, I think it's okay. And the prices are relatively decent...I think.

I'm not thrilled with the picture we used, but it will do. It's one of a few recent pictures we have together. We won't have our engagement pictures done until the fall and I don't want to wait that long to send out the STDs save-the-dates. We took this one on the sunset cruise in Port Aransas. My face is sweaty glistening from the heat. I tried to edit it a little. Of course Luis looks picture-perfect, as usual. :-) Such a cutie!

I'm hoping that next weekend I can start looking at dresses.....!!!! Should be exciting!

WHOOP!

Texas A&M Women's Basketball

National Champions

And another GREAT article about the women's basketball team.

King Dog

 Doesn't he look just like one of those Sphinxes in Egypt?  He looks so solemn and powerful.....

 

Kinda like this guy, but without the messed up face......

King Didger.

Thought for the day

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” — Herman Hesse

 

Go Red!

In 2004, the American Heart Association (AHA) faced a challenge. Cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, yet women were not paying attention. In fact, many even dismissed it as an “older man’s disease.” To dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women – a passionate, emotional, social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health. (www.goredforwomen.org)

The American Heart Association's National Go RED for Women day is this Friday, February 4th. Wear RED and show your support for the fight against heart disease, the number one killer of women in the United States. Go HERE to make donations, sign up for the Go RED movement, take the Heart Check Up, get heart healthy recipes, and much more!

It's Time....

for a new post!

I'm so tired of seeing that stupid blog about how terrible Tron was. I have nothing really to say at the moment but I felt the need to post something else to keep things moving. :-p

In other news:
I was reading back a year ago to this post I made about my resolutions and goals for the year 2010. I am happy to report that most of my goals I accomplished. However, there are some that haven't materialized yet, namely the running another half marathon thing. My knees have given me too much trouble lately, and between Taekwondo a few nights a week and bowling and studying, I just haven't had the time to devote to running. Maybe this year?  Speaking of school, I am glad to report that I have maintained my 4.0 GPA and have actually changed degree plans a few times. After a lot of research, I have finally settled on MBA with healthcare emphasis as the best route for me. Plus it gets me finished faster; I'll graduate at the end of this summer as opposed to next spring!  Another one of my goals last year was to stick with TKD and get to at least red belt, which I have done! In fact, I just tested for my black stripe this past Tuesday. Which means that in about 4 more months, I'll be black belt! Watch out!  Another of my goals was to join a young professional or volunteer group; that hasn't panned out either but its more because of a lack of time than lack of energy. I did join a quilting group though, does that count? And I've been doing a ton of sewing. Check, check, check.

Now its time for new goals and resolutions for 2011. Here are a few that I'll share with you. :-)

1. Lose 10 lbs by May 1
2. Achieve black belt status by June
3. Join a church and attend regularly
4. Get involved in some way at said church
5. Graduate in August with a 4.0 GPA
6. Save more money by bringing my lunch to work every day instead of buying in the cafeteria
7. Pay off one of my credit cards by August
8. Have plans in place to visit my brother in Morocco, either this fall or next spring
9. Celebrate my 30th birthday/NYE in Times Square, NYC
10. Spend more time with my parents 

There you have it! These among others will be my goals and resolutions for the coming year. Help keep me accountable!


And finally, here are some pictures of me from the tournament that my TKD school put on back in December. I competed in the forms, breaking and sparring competitions. I got 2nd place in forms and breaking......

I beat out 3 black belts for 1st place in Sparring :-)