Countdown to H-Town!

Went to "GET MOTIVATED!" this week:

Good speakers, but WAY cheesy!!!

This weekend I'm headed to Houston to see friends, go to my cousin's homecoming football game (Go, B!), and watch my Aunt compete in a fitness figure competition- Kelly, I'm so PROUD of you!! 

I have the day off Monday, so I have lots of wedding errands planned!!! 

I'm ready for an exciting weekend!!

Week in review

BUSY few days- Women's Business conference ( Lisa Ling was the speaker, and she was GREAT)!!
Leadership Richardson Alumni Reception
Boss' Day- FUN day with co-workers
Dallas Race for the Cure
Ranch Party- Concert in Fort Worth for Robert & Jess' B-day
Pumpkin Carving Party at Diana's :)

Tomorrow is the GET MOTIVATED! Seminar at AAC.. :)

Engagement Pics

Melissa Preston is our photographer- I'm so happy with this session. Mom- I sent you the link!! :)

Week In Review!!!

It was a busy week. I went to Houston for work at the beginning of the week, then off to College Station for a commercial banking panel, where I had the pleasure of meeting a few of A&M's best.. Any trip to CS is always met with a stop at La Bodega for a strawberry tart :)

The back to Dallas for Junior Achievement Training, and Leadership Richardson..

I totally saved the best for last: CARRIE CONCERT!! Here are my favorite pics:

Miss u Mama!

I've enlisted help from the bridesmaids to find their dresses.. It's a bit of an overwhelming process... 

I met Colleen's baby this week and she is ADORABLE! Engagement pics are Saturday (I'll share a few here), and until then, it's teeth bleaching, spray tanning, hilights, blowouts, mani/pedi, and make-up sessions.. :) 

Countdown to Mom visit: 9 days :)

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

Friday consisted of the RIchardson Chamber Golf Tournament, at which I was yelled at by a very old man for not being a good cart driver (whatever, he was really grumpy)..

Then lunch for a customer, quick stop at Loft, and then the Leadership Richardson Road Rally. The road rally was a road trip to several historical sites in Richardson. We took pictures to prove we were all at each location (and didn't split up to make it go faster (some pics below)..

We were trying to be water nymphs :)

After the road rally, I went to the Ford dealership with Matt to see if it made financial sense for him to buy a 2010 F-150 Supercrew.. Afterwards, we went to Tupi's and enjoyed tacos al carbon! :)

Saturday has consisted of a LOT of rain and a Gold's workout.. My volunteer shift at the arboretum was cancelled due to rain.. Now I'm off to Northpark to find shoes for my engagement pics :)..

Wednesday & Thursday recap!

Wednesday:
Lunch with the Jersey girl at cheddars

Then off to a ribbon cutting at the Aggie-Owned Paragon Innovations (electrical design co. in Richardson)

Then Ambassador networking at the FC Dallas game

End Scene- Wednesday:)

Thursday:
Work meetings
Bridesmaid Dress Shopping with Diana.. Here are my favorites:

Thoughts??
Meeting with LR committee at 5.. Have a happy Thursday afternoon.. :)

Beginning of the week blues

Monday's Agenda: 

Work
Monday Motivators Networking Meeting
Stitches out & Microdermabrasion (covered by Insurance, Holler!!!)
Lewisville to meet Matt's Aunt Pat (who is in town celebrating her 50th high school reunion) :)

Tuesday:
Catch up with Clients, turn in reports
To Fort Worth- Arrived early and shopped at White House Black Market where I ran into a Zeta sister of mine from A&M. Had a moment of weakness and made a purchase:

Then, I represented FNB (my employer) at the TCU Commercial Banking Panel. TCU was kind enough to gift the speakers with USB drives (this is a great gift for any professional). Here is the outfit I chose for this occasion: 

Ann Taylor Loft Wine Colored Blouse with Necklace detail

Black Limited Trousers

Grey XXI Open Sweater 

(I needed to look professional)

After the TCU festivities, I caught up with my girl Carmen at Baileys, and we had DELICIOUS martinis!! If they look like they're smokin- they are! There is a block of dry ice in each glass!!!

Plans for Wednesday:
2 Calls
Lunch with my Jersey Girl, Costa
Ribbon Cutting for Paragon Innovations
FC Dallas Game with the Richardson Chamber Ambassadors.. :)

Sunday, Sunday!!

Church (Ephesians 21-33); how Husbands and Wives are commanded to treat one another.. Great sermon at the Heights Baptist..

My healthmiles pedometer finally quit.. For good.. I e-mailed the company, but my hopes are not high. I'm assuming they will tell me to buy a new one, which doesn't make sense to me. I'm mourning the loss of the pedometer. We've been very close for 2 years.. It is a sad loss.

Susie and Tyler were kind enough to host a champagne brunch (corn casserole, breakfast pizza, breakfast casserole, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit, fruit tart, mimosas, bloody mary's, and more).. It was GREAT!

Watched Cowboy's Game

NAP!!

Supertarget (very necessary)

Chores (my Sunday ritual)

Now, we are preparing dinner (pork chop sandwiches from Matt's Perry's left-overs)..

Preparing for next week.. Have a great Sunday!! :)

Perry's.. The Place to Be!

MB and I felt like we needed a date night, so we decided to give Perry's a try.. I was also excited because it gave me a chance to wear my new Gap tunic:

Perry's is a GREAT steakhouse in Uptown (several locations in Houston).. Our table was on the 2nd floor, which overlooked a lot of the restaurant. Every single part of the meal was fantastic.. Salads, entrees, MB had a GIGANTIC pork chop (the house specialty), and I had a kabob with steak, lobster, and shrimp.. The best part of the meal (by far) was dessert, the Nutty D'Angelo.. A ball of ice cream, covered in a shell of white chocolate.. The chef then prepares a praline sauce (table side), and along with pecans, covers the pre-made ice cream.. It's quite a show-stopper!! We are already looking forward to our next visit..

Leadership Richardson.. Look MOM!!!

Mom (since you are the only one currently reading this)- We had a Leadership Richardson (LR) Retreat today, where our class got to know each other, build trust, re-live our cheerleading days (by building pyramids), work on communication skills, and enjoy the Friday away from work together. We also did a ROPES challenge today and I did all of the height activities (and have the pics to prove it)!!!! A big thanks to "Fun Frankie", my safety partner for the day.. A few of these activities included:

Climbing a 25 ft pole, then jumping to a trapeze bar...

Shocking, right? It gets better. Then we did the challenge course which goes as follows: 

Climb a 30 ft. pole, walk across an inclined log to another podium, where you use a rope to balance as you walk across a tightrope. After that, you use a small rope to walk across a suspended log. You then transfer to another tightrope, with 5 ropes hanging down from a higher wire(you use each suspended rope to get to the next). You end at a rockwall, which you climb, then zipline to the finish!!

An eager class member and I tried to zipline with style (I did it upside down). You can see the top of the zipline tower in the last picture.. : 

The zipline safety guy told me that I look EXACTLY like Erin Andrews. That was directly after he saw me wipe a pool of sweat on my shirt, so I definitely didn't SMELL like Erin Andrews. PS- If you can make that safety harness look fashionable (or even wearable), I consider you a miracle worker..

Plans for tomorrow:
1) LR Retreat Continues
2) Bridal shower for Leigh Kimbrough (my dear friend Jack's Fiacee, who I am very excited to meet)

Until then, have a great evening! :)

Volunteer Center

We had our yearly kickoff meeting at the Volunteer Center (for the student engagement committee).  A few important dates to keep in mind: 

October 24, 2010- Hands on North Texas Challenge
November 20, 2010- Family Volunteer Day (A Slant 45 objective)

If you haven't already registered at the Volunteer Center, check them out (below)!!

http://www.volunteernorthtexas.org/

5 Star Day

So... MB gave me a 40% off coupon to the Gap (only valid on Wednesdays), so I had to go on my lunch break.. I had my heart set on a striped t-shirt, but they didn't have my size, so I found this:

http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=57857&vid=1&pid=749468&scid=749468012

AFTER checking out (and I emphasize AFTER, because she had no incentive to say so, since I'd already made my purchase), the lady at the checkout said, "You know, when you first walked in I thought you were Carrie Underwood".. O...M...G... I adore Carrie (I'm about 5 inches taller than her, and could not in any way be confused for her by a die hard fan), and this alone made it a 5 star day..

Rest of the day (Although irrelevant, since someone thought I was Carrie, and thats all I could think about):
My phone broke (I can't get a new one until Tuesday), had a meeting, ran errands, met with a reception venue coordinator, cooked a healthy Chicken tostada recipe I found in the GNO office out of Healthy Living magazine, and now, I'm considering visiting Gold's Gym..

One great thing about my health insurance co. is they subsidize my gym memberships, and offer a fitness program option for me to work out at several different gyms (aka eliminating excuses to not go) including: 24 hour, Gold's, Curves, Bally's, etc.. If you have BCBS, check it out!!!

Have a great night.. Call me, oh, wait....

***UPDATE*** Went to Gold's and watched Vantage Point in the Cardio Cinema. The equipment at the Addison location is GREAT (Life Fitness Machines and Kettlebells).. Will definitely go back soon.. I'll keep you "posted" (no pun intended) :)

Naughty By Nordstrom

I had to work late tonight (ASWA meeting), so I decided to play in the Nordstrom "special occasion" dressing room on my lunch break. My actual purpose was to look for a dress for my engagement pictures (I'm going for 2 separate looks).. Tell me what you think!

First Look: TX Casual (see blue dress below) No makeup=no face pic..

Second Look: Something a little sassier..