2011 In Review

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
I skied my first double black at Breckenridge…and got engaged!


2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I kept some of them – I graduated with my master’s degree and lost a tiny bit of weight.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friend Emma had a boy in December – Nolan David Webb


4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank God. Hopefully we are done with that for a while.


5. What countries did you visit?
None – just stayed in the good ole USA – but I went to a lot of states!


6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?
More money.


7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
April 14th because that is the day that the love of my life proposed to me :-)


8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?
Graduating with my MBA.


9. What was your biggest failure?
Not keeping up with Taekwondo and not saving/spending money wisely.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No – just the usual cold here and there.


11. What was the best thing you bought?
Ummm probably new clothes and shoes. It was time for a wardrobe upgrade. ;-)


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Luis’s for sure! He’s definitely grown a lot. And a few of my friends who have once again shown that they are here for me and support me no matter what!


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Those who shall not be named.


14. Where did most of your money go?
Ugh. I have no idea. Bills. Clothes. Probably to lots of stuff it didn’t need to go to.


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting engaged and all the wedding planning with my mom, family and friends!


16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Probably any song by Adele. <---agreed. That, and anything by Lady Antebellum


17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Happier; Thinner; Poorer!!!


18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Saved money; gotten more organized.


19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worry and stress out over shit that doesn’t matter, and spend money.


20. How did you spend Christmas?
We spent Christmas in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado with my dad’s side of the family. We skied and ate and had a great time hanging out with family! Then we had a nice quiet Christmas at home with my momma!


21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I fell even MORE in love with Luis. :-) And I got a huge crush on Josh Duhamel and an even bigger one on Timothy Olyphant.


22. What was your favorite TV program?
Justified.


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Ohhhh hate is such a strong word. Let’s just say that I feel differently about some people.


24. What was the best book you read?
Top 3: Hunger Games Trilogy, Water for Elephants, Harry Potter series (up to book 5)


25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Ummm, Adele. Although I didn’t really discover her, but I LOVE her. And I discovered that I like hip hop/dance music a lot more than I used to.


26. What did you want and get?
I wanted to graduate, and did. And I wanted to get engaged, and did. And I wanted new clothes, and got them!


27. What did you want and not get?
I wanted to get my black belt in TKD but I slacked off. This year for sure!


28. What was your favorite film of 2011?
Ohhh goodness, I’ll have to go look at a list…. Okay I don’t think I have one favorite but here are a few that I really liked: The Tree of Life, Transformers 3, Bridesmaids, One Day, the last Harry Potter


29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We shall not speak of how young I am. But I had a wonderful dinner at El Finex with my family and then Luis and I kicked it old school at Sevens – our old hangout. I would have liked to done something bigger but it just never works out, being born on New Year’s Eve. Maybe next year… ;-)


30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not having to deal with drama. And having more money.


31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?
Progressive! I own skinny jeans! I’d say I’m doing fairly well compared to years of past!


32. What kept you sane?
Luis. My momma. Danielle. Lauren. Timothy Olyphant.


33. What political issue stirred you the most?
That one bill that gives the government the right to arrest and hold without trial American citizens. Seriously?


34. Who did you miss?
My old friends from college who I never see anymore :-(

35. Who was the best new person you met?
LOL…did I meet a new person? Ummmm….I’m sure there’s someone…okay maybe not. No one that left an impression at least! (How terrible!)


36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Oh I think a learned a few: 1. People do change. Some for the better; some for the worst. 2. Some people never change. 


37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Actually, two different songs come to mind: The first: “It’s one door swinging open and one door swinging closed…We’re holding on and letting go.” – Ross Copperman. The second, “I’m sexy and I know it” – LMFAO :-)


I hope your year was happy and I hope that 2012 is filled with many blessings for you and me.

New Year, New Name

So I'm thinking of renaming and revaming my blog. Any suggestions? :-)

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.