Up, Up & Away!

Today we had a once-in-lifetime experience as we rode the "Garden of Dreams" hot air balloon across North Dallas. I prayed for a romantic idea to come to me since Dana's birthday is approaching - and God delivered this into our hands... It was incredible!

Spending Time with Good Friends

With weekends of travel ahead of us, it was great this weekend to be in town to spend some quality time with our friends. On Friday night, Dana had a high school happy hour for alumni living in Dallas and then he headed to Steel (an awesome Asian fusion restaurant) to celebrate the birthday of our dear friend Erol.

I enjoyed a night with the girls! We got together to celebrate our other dear friend Kelley's birthday, and had an incredible evening catching up at her house just drinking wine and getting treated to massages by an in-home masseuse! The day I become rich and famous, I guarantee you I'm having someone come to my house to give me a weekly massage. (If you're reading this and you're local, you HAVE to try Wendy from the Solara spa in Frisco - she's amazing).

Saturday was just as fantastic because we got to meet up with (Wash U) friend Sara Holben and her boyfriend James in Waco, TX. Why Waco you might ask? Well James lives in Austin and Waco is 1/2 way between Dallas and Austin so it was an easy place to meet for the day.

We explored the Dr. Pepper museum and the Waco zoo - both of which were surprisingly really terrific! It was a beautiful day and so much fun to catch up (and finally meet James). Check out the pictures of the adorable baby monkey we saw!

A Relaxing Weekend

This weekend it was so nice to enjoy a relaxing weekend after several weekends of travel. Other than waste too many hours on facebook.com, we haven't done much except hang out drinking wine and reading by the pool!

Yesterday our church newlywed couples group met for a football celebration (I know we're not newlyweds anymore, but we've been hanging out with these couples for over 2 years now). After having a "game day food" cookoff and celebrating Stephanie's birthday, the guys watched games and the girls hit the outlet mall. Quite a day! I really love this group of people and feel blessed to have them in our lives. On top of that, Michigan proved that they could finally win a game!

Earlier this week Dana & I both started new Mens and Womens bible studies on Thursdays. In addition, our new church building opened and it's awesome (previously we met in a high school auditorium). I'm feeling inspired to invite friends to check it out.

Finally, a big high five to Sondra for restarting her blog and Sam for finding such an unbelievable new place in Hong Kong!

Football (& Shopping) Party with Watermark Church Community Group

Strong Women

Today I attended a conference on Strong Women in Chicago. It was a great chance to catch up with our friend Lindsay Daigle, who recently transferred from Frito up to Tropicana in Chicago.

The first speaker said that "Strong Women are healthy in mind, body and spirit and are making a difference in the world". I found that very inspiring. I think that my goal now is to be a Strong Woman...

Interesting things I learned from Harvard/Columbia experts:
1. Heart Disease is the #1 killer of women (kills more women than men!)
2. Diet influences weight loss more than exercise (I guess the Fitness Challenge at work isn't going to do me a lot of good if I still eat McDonalds!)
3. Most people don't need to take supplements, but women do need more vitamin D, Calcium and Folic Acid (if they are getting pregnant)
4. Women have MAJOR biological/chemical differences from men that cause us to react to situations differently. It's not just cultural! As one expert put it - "It's amazing we ever get to the altar, much less to bed"
5. "Infatuation" lasts until about 4-7 years into a relationship and then you really see your partner for who they are
6. Women should marry someone 10 years younger for optimal sexual compatibility
7. Statistics show that the stress level of working women is much higher than working men (it's actually similar to men in combat!)

Last but not least, congratulations to the Baylesses and Hatchs on their new babies!

Our First Indian Wedding

Well this past weekend was certainly one to remember! We attended the incredible wedding of our friends Tej and Pansy in Ohio. Tej was Dana's roommate at U of Michigan business school (along with Scott).

Friday night we attended something like a rehearsal dinner but with lots of dancing, singing and henna painting. We couldn't get over the rainbow of saris everywhere. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Saturday we loved seeing Tej dress up in his traditional Indian wedding attire and ride in on a horse, with the wedding guests dancing in front of him in the city streets. What a spectacle! Our group of friends from business school really enjoyed watching 200 Indians partying and 10 white people trying to blend in. The men kept telling us to just "screw in the lightbulb" with our hands in the air and jump up and down. It was so funny that we all just laughed at ourselves and had a fabulous time.

The ceremony itself had a lot of tradition in it and felt similar to a Jewish wedding (minus the glass stomping). It was magical! Afterwards was more awesome Indian food and dancing (the DJ would play an Indian song, then Michael Jackson, then Indian again and so on...)

On a separate note, we want to congratulate our families on several big accomplishments! Congrats to Ron & Judy on 39 wonderful years of marriage. You inspire us! And a big congrats as well to our brother and sister, Sam and Ana, on their triathlons this weekend. You're amazing and we love you!

Tej's Wedding

Baby Central

It seems to be baby central around here! Our friends Kori and Paul are being induced today and we just found out last night that our other good friends George and Lindsey are pregnant! We're so happy for them.

Dana and I had a fun night last night out on Lake Lewisville. Our team at work has been part of an ongoing Fitness Challenge for the past few months and since we KICKED BUTT and won, the team who lost to us had to pay us back last night. They rented a party boat (complete with a waterslide and all) and a group of 20 of us grilled out and enjoyed some beverages. The weather was beautiful and the sunset was this gorgeous pink color, so we had a blast. I'm sad the challenge is over though because my motivation to work out has gone with it, so I really need to start a new bet with someone!

Dana and I leave today to go to Columbus, Ohio for yet another wedding. We're really looking forward to it because a) it's Dana's good friend and roommate from Univ of Michigan and b) it's our 1st Indian wedding! Tej is going to ride a horse and we'll see the Indian dancers and everything. Can't wait!

We're Back!

We're back home now after a whirlwind trip to Portland. The first few days were focused on my friend Amy's wedding. Amy is my oldest friend in the world (I've known her since I was 5) and this was the perfect wedding in every way. It was outdoors at a majestic winery on a perfectly gorgeous day. It was simple and classy and laid-back and just felt... completely awesome and romantic. We spent most of our time catching up with Rachael (who I've known since I was 6) and her adorable family.

After that we had some quality time with my sister Mary. We visited her church (incredible music!), walked through the famous Japanese Gardens and experienced the Oregon State Fair. The Fair was so fun! It had something for each of us. We drank Oregon wines, checked out art exhibits (we took some good quilt and cake pics for Judy and Stephanie!), enjoyed an amazing photography exhibit, laughed through Pig Olympics, watched the Purina Dog Games (those dogs are really talented), ate good food and actually sat through our 1st Demolition Derby - it was quite unforgettable! Mary and I were worried that one of the cars might blow up - but other than that it was entertaining.

Hope you all had a nice long Labor Day weekend!

A Weekend in Portland with Mary and St. Louis friends

Happy Birthday to Me!

So the day has finally come and I'm 31!! It really feels a lot different from 30, which is strange. Last night Dana and I enjoyed my absolute favorite Almond Champagne (discovered years ago at Travis' wedding) and we had a blast opening all of my gifts. I should mention that before that Hillary and I went for Sushi (who knew that Blue Fish turned into such a hot spot at night?) and she gave me the awesome Nike iSport Kit that helps you track how far you run and how many calories you burn. I can't wait to use it! Anyhow, I have to say that my favorite gift of all was a picture of my niece Larkin in head-to-toe Frito-Lay attire. Ana dressed her in a Cheetos t-shirt and had her eating Flat Earth chips next to a huge stuffed Chester Cheetah. If you knew how much our lives pretty much revolve around our nieces and Frito-Lay (hopefully it's not as bad as that sounds) then you'd understand how perfect the picture was.

On top of that, work treated me to a golf lesson yesterday for my b-day and then sent my friend Nicole and I golfing. We only got through about 4 holes but it was a great intro into the world of golf. I can't wait to do it again!!

In about 5 hours we're off to Portland. Can't wait!