Let 2010 Begin!

Sooo I have a feeling this year is going to be amazing! At least I hope so! I have lots of goals set that I want to achieve, some of which include: run another half marathon; do a triathlon sprint; maintain a 4.0 in my graduate classes; make it BIG in my Silpada business; stick with my taekwondo practice and at least graduate to red belt by the end of the year; get all kinds of crafty on my sewing machine and basically become a master at it; join a young professionals or volunteer organization; and of course, have a ton of FUN!

I've got the fun part down already after spending the beginning of the year in Cancun for 4 wonderful days. Pictures posted below. Lou's company takes an annual trip there and pays for everyone to go! We stayed at the Beach Palace, an all inclusive resort, and soaked up tons of sun and fun!

the view from our room

the ocean waving "hi!" to us

all 16 of us in the sports bar

playing at the market :-)

beach time!

we're WILD for Cancun!

I've also got the sewing thing going pretty well. Right before (literally the night before) we left for Cancun I decided I needed to make a tote bag to bring along with me. Luckily, thanks to my dear friend Angela, I had already bought the perfect fabric for a tropical tote, so I got busy on that, and whahlah!

And its only mid-January! I'm really looking forward to the rest of the year!

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!