Happy Birthday Brett -
Yesterday Brett turned 26. Unlike me, he doesn't like drawing attention to himself. I had a feeling he wouldn't even tell anyone at work that it was his birthday.....so naturally I had to step in and make sure he was given the proper recognition! I emailed a girl in his office and asked her to work on something special. She did a great job. This is what she created:


I was quite pleased with what she came up with!!

Happy Birthday Brett! So glad you were born!! : )

Texas Tech Alumni Dinner -
Last night Brett & I attended the Texas Tech Alumni dinner at Joe T's. Brett was selected as the Scholarship chairman so it was his job to select this year's two recipients and announce them at the dinner. I was nervous for Brett but he did a great job when it was his turn to present the scholarship dinners. He made me so proud!!

The president of the Alumni association, Bill Dean, was there and gave us an update on enrollment as well as projects going on in Lubbock, at Tech and his sports predictions for the upcoming year. He played a quick video and it really made me a little sad! As much fun as it is being an adult and all (i.e. buying a new home!!) there are still those times I wish I could go back to college. Oh to be young careless and fancy-free again...

Anyway, the dinner really got us pepped up for college football (which is right around the corner) and it inspired us to get more involved with the Alumni association. The current Fort Worth chapter is fairly small and needs some work. Our goal is to get more people involved and help the chapter grow!

Also last night I talked to Bill Dean about getting a new diploma. For those of you who don't know, yes, I may have "misplaced" my diploma. But, Bill said he will help me get a new one. Hooray! I will be an official Tech graduate!!

Oh, and on a final note: Guess who we sat with at the dinner and didn't even know it?!?! A former MASKED RIDER!!! Pretty cool!!

Attention Drivers:
There is something that has been bothering me for a while now and I feel like I should share it with you....
When you are on the highway and see a sign that says a lane is closed up ahead and you continue driving in that lane (especially when there is heavy traffic) that makes you a total JERK! I am about sick of people doing that to me. I am a driver of integrity so I follow the rules and stay out of the closed lane. However many feel like they are above the law and choose to zoom past me and then want me to take pity on the when they are stuck in the closed lane. They expect me to let them over. Well, not on my watch buck-o!!! If you were so concerned about the closed lane you would have gotten over a lane before passing like 30 cars. UGH! I don't normally experience what most refer to as road rage but when people are plain rude and think they can drive past me going 50+ and then "cut" in right before they hit the traffic cones it irks me! So if you are accustomed to doing this and hear someone honking at you, look around, because it's probably me and I think you're RUDE! Phewwww I feel much better now that that is off my chest.

House Update -
Things at the new house are going well. We are slowly getting more and more unpacked but we still have a long way to go! We are hopefully going to buy a dining room table and bedroom furniture in the near future. Very exciting!

This morning I took my first shower in the guest bathroom. I have been meaning to do this all week but keep forgetting. I wanted to make sure it worked and nothing was broken etc. I am happy to report that it was a delightful shower! I feel like such a rockstar. We have not one, but TWO showers with water pressure!! We are pretty darn fancy. I feel like we've finally arrived in this world. HA!
Also exciting: We turned in our keys to the rent house today. Goodbye Specialized Property Management!!! We will NOT miss you but please send us our deposit!! Note to all the readers out there: Do not rent from them!They will not fix things or return your phone calls!

So you think you can Dance

I love the art of dance. I took dance lessons for over 12 years growing up and even though I don't still practice it, I feel that I have a great appreciation for great dancers, choreographers, and musicians because of my past experiences. Over the last few years, I have come to love the show, "So you think you can dance." I believe they have some of the most talented young dancers in the country. I am amazed each week by their skill level. It is truly inspirational! Unlike Dancing with the stars, SYTYCD displays a variety of dance types. In fact last week, the boys did a African tribal dance. Since I love 'em all: hip hop, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, Broadway, etc it's always fun to see what they will do next.

Last night, two of this season's dancers, Melissa and Ade, performed one of the most moving dances I've ever seen. It gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. Their dance told the story of a woman fighting breast cancer and the friend that stood by her side through all her pain. WOW, it was awesome! The song, "This woman's work" is quite powerful on it's own but combined with the amazing dancers and unique choreography, it was even more PHENOMENAL!

The dancers conveyed so much, without saying a word. Which is the incredible thing about dancing. You can make people feel things without the use of words.

I encourage you to get on YouTube ( click on the title of this post) and watch their dance. If that doesn't get you, listen to the judges comments afterwards. Quite moving!

By watching these incredible dancers, I was reminded that we all have God-given talents that we should share with others. Of course, we can't all be wonderful dancers, but that doesn't mean we can't contribute something significant to the world.



Go out and share your talents with others!

I could not ask for more

Yesterday was a monumental day for Brett & I. We closed on our very first house!! It was very exciting and something we'd been waiting for for quite some time now. Everyone had made "closing" sound like such a big deal. However it was a little anti-climactic when we finished signing all the paperwork. When I put the pen down, I almost expected people to pop out of the woodwork and start cheering for us, chanting our names, dancing a choreographed jig. Sadly, none of that happened.



But what did happen is that hours later, we were given keys to our very own HOME, giant Mickey Mouse keys no less. Not being able to contain our excitement, we started moving in last night and spent our first night there.



While in the car on our way to the new house, a song came on the radio and I couldn't help but think it really did apply to us. Edwin McCain's song, "I could not ask for more" is a little cheesy and it's really more of a love song, but it captured how I felt last night and brought a tear to my eye. Brett and I are so blessed to be so young and already buying a home. We are blessed to have each other, to have jobs we love and we should not take any of it for granted!!



Here are the lyrics:



Lying here with you, Listening to the rain,

Smiling just to see, The smile upon your face,

These are the moments, I thank God that I'm alive,

These are the moments, I'll remember all my life,

I found all I've waited for, And I could not ask for more.



Looking in your eyes, Seeing all I need,

Everything you are, Is everything to me,

These are the moments, I know heaven must exist,

These are the moments, I know all I need is this,

I have all I've waited for, And I could not ask for more.



Chorus:I could not ask for more than this time together,

I could not ask for more than this time with you,

Every prayer has been answered,

Every dream I have's come true,

Yeah right here in this moment, Is right where I'm meant to be,

Here with you, Here with me. . .

These are the moments, I thank God that I'm alive,

These are the moments, I'll remember all my life,

I've got all I've waited for,And I could not ask for more. . .



Good song....like I said, a little cheesy, but still true!!



In closing, here are some of my favorite things about our new house:



-We have water pressure!

-Our fan has a remote control.

-There is a TV in the kitchen

-Our walk-in closet is no longer a long dungeon but a real walk-in closet!

-There is not a possum (that we know of) living with us.



Of course I could keep going, but you get the point. We are LOVING our new house and can't wait to show it off once all the boxes are unpacked!

Concert in the Gardens

Here's a cute picture of Brett and I.....before I got the black eye!!

Red, White and Blue...

4th of July was a lot of fun for Brett and I. We spent time with family and friends, saw some great fireworks, and even managed to relax a little.

However, take a look at my 4th of July souvenier from the lake. A boy, who will remain nameless (since I don't know his name) decided it would be fun to throw a lit firework up into the night sky. Well, it almost landed right on my head!! While trying to run out of the way, I came face to face with a metal pole. Here is the result:

It looked worse in person and has started turning all kinds of fun shades and colors! Currently it's taken on a yellow hue to match the yellow shirt I am wearing. So fun!

I hope everyone else had a much safer 4th of July!

Contentment vs. Complacency

Two weeks ago we heard a great sermon at church. It was about the importance of being content with what you have and focusing on God instead of material things. It was such a good message and it really hit me hard. It applies to so many areas of our life.


Most of us live our lives always wanting something bigger and better. Nothing is ever good enough. I know I'm guilty of this at times. I think it is partly due to my selfish greed but also a result of my generation. We've been told to never settle. We've convinced ourselves that we are entitled to everything under the sun. We live in such a fast-paced world that we can't just slow down to enjoy what we have, we have to go-go-go and figure out how we will do more, get more, be more, etc.


I don't want to live my life like that. I want to be grateful for all the blessings in my life. I do have so much to be thankful for. We all do. But, I don't want to sit back and become complacent with myself either. So, how do you improve yourself without taking it too far?


In my mind, there is a fine line between being content and being complacent. Let me explain: I recently had my yearly review at work. It went well and I received a raise. All in all I am very content with my job. For the most part I enjoy what I do, the people I work with, the company I work for. However, does that mean I just continue doing what I'm doing for the next 5 years?


This week I heard about a future opening in our company's Communications group. My ears immediately perked up. Obviously, I have an interest in communications since I majored in journalism and minored in English. But to this day, I have yet to find a job where I can put that degree to good use. At times it is quite frustrating! I enjoy writing and using my creativity. I would like to have a job that allows me to do both. So what do I do? I am content with my job but do not want to be complacent and let a great opportunity pass me by...it's quite the delima!